Tag Archives: Pelagic Cormorants

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Last week Richard Kuehn took Rick and me to a very special spot on The Sea Ranch. We were told to be quiet as we made our way out to a point where we could observe the nesting Pelagic Cormorants on the protected bluff face. Below is a female sitting on eggs with her mate next to her.

 And a resettling of the female allowed Rich to get a photo of her eggs. It looks like four eggs are in the nest.

There were perhaps a dozen or so nests and the males were coming and going, bringing food to the nesting females. It was magical to observe them and not disturb them in any way.

To hear their calls, here's a link to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/pelagic_cormorant/sounds

Thanks to Rich for allowing me to share his photos and for showing Rick and me this spot. I will share a few more photos of this place soon.

Bonus sighting - the first Wild Rhododendrons have begun their bloom. Rick and I saw the first bloom yesterday, Thursday, April 25.

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Nik Epanchin photographed these nesting Pelagic Cormorants on a bluff face near the Point Arena Lighthouse recently. You can see the babies in the upper nest. What a great photo and I thank Nik for allowing me to share it here!

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Once again Craig Tooley has the magic. He recently photographed a pair of Pelagic Cormorants on their cliff-side nest. I thought these birds were black with a white patch on their flank when breeding but Craig's photo shows a multitude of colors.

Do you wonder how they get their nest to stay on that precarious spot? I wondered too. They use their own guano to help cement it to the ledge. Amazing! The nest always faces the sea. Pelagics, also called Baird's Cormorants, feed on fish. They dive from the surface and chase their prey underwater. Another example of some of the wonderful creatures sharing our beautiful Mendonoma Coast.

To see more of Craig's photos, here's his link:

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Gualala Point Island is a beautiful rock island that sits off the far north end of The Sea Ranch. It is an important rookery for seabirds. Right now the island is bustling with renewed life. Brandt's and Pelagic Cormorants are building nests. Black Oystercatchers are mating. While watching the island, hundreds of Loons, mostly Pacific but some Common and a few Red-throated streamed by. You can see this island from Gualala Regional Park. Just head west to the ocean next to the Sea Ranch access trail and it will reveal itself as if by magic.