"DEEP DIVE"

Double-Crested Cormorant - 7 Photos

Once in a while, Nature does give do-overs.

Had missed a dive & resurface of a Double-Crested Cormorant the day before. When it came up, there was something hanging from its bill. The "something" disappeared down the cormorant's throat so quickly I thought it was some weedy substance from the bottom of the pond.

Fast forward to the following morning. In swam a cormorant which dived & resurfaced, again directly in front of me. This time I was ready and could see that it was indeed a fish.

And together with that do-over, all the stars were aligned (or perhaps birds) and the cormorant, the camera focus & the photographer all worked as one. :)

I rarely hold down the shutter button for a long period but this was one for the books. No sooner had the cormorant resurfaced with the fish, then it swallowed and down the throat it went. Time can appear to slow and having rechecked the playback of the camera sometime later, the entire episode took less than 3 seconds.

Because of the size of the fish, I reached out to Fish Tales Fly Shop in Calgary, Alberta for an identification. If you ever want to know what type of fish, reach out to a source that specializes in fishing & fishing equipment. It was identified as a White Sucker, a native & common species in Alberta and a bottom feeder. So it's a shout out to David & Courtney for their rapid response & assistance. Very much appreciated!

After a few less successful dives, the cormorant swam back into the larger pond and then took off to new fishing destinations.

PHOTO #1

PHOTO #2

PHOTO #3

PHOTO #4

PHOTO #5

PHOTO #6

PHOTO #7