One of the most common water birds that we have in central Florida are the double crested cormorants (Nannopterum auritum). I see them most commonly when out on one of the local rivers, but one interesting thing about cormorants is that they will live around either fresh water or salt water. As long as there are fish to be had in the water, cormorants will be around. This bird was one of several that I saw on the ocean beach earlier this week at Fort DeSoto State Park in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Another interesting fact about cormorants is that even though they are water birds, their feathers are not fully waterproof. That means that every so often they have to dry off their feathers. That’s especially true of their flight feathers. For this reason, it’s not unusual to see them perched somewhere with their wings extended. This behavior is also very common in anhingas, and is seen sometimes in vultures, too. This bird had obviously been doing some fishing and was pretty wet all over. It had perched on the beach and was in the process of drying its feathers when I came along. It didn’t seem to be much bothered by my attention since I kept my distance, but it did decide to fly off when a young couple came up along the beach. They weren’t paying any attention to the bird, but when they got too close the bird decided it was time to move on. Since it moved on, so did I.