dun laoghaire bird

thebaz

no nothing too racy , but i was down between the piers in Dun laoghaire today, it was pretty gloomy, but i saw this amazing bird at end of a tiny pier , and i know nothing about birds (feathered or unfeathered !) .. anyway does anyone know what it is ... he/she was actually unfazed by my approach , but my bloody mobile went off , so i missed some great shots ..
but got these

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebaz/576991378/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebaz/576991364/

frustrated baz.

Alun

It's a cormorant ... surprised you've never seen one before, they're quite common.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/c/cormorant/index.asp

thebaz

Alun wrote:

It's a cormorant ... surprised you've never seen one before, they're quite common.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/c/cormorant/index.asp

thanks Alun, never heard of them , as per the link, he had his wings outstreched statuesque like , which would have been great to capture , except for my mobile going off

Alun

thebaz wrote:

thanks Alun, never heard of them , as per the link, he had his wings outstreched statuesque like , which would have been great to capture , except for my mobile going off

Yeah, they do that to dry off their wings after they've dived for fish, a classic 'pose' for a cormorant. They're often seen flying either alone, or sometimes in 'close formation' very close to to the water's surface.

Shabadu

They're awful feckers. They've decimated the salmon and trout, even pike population on the Shannon.

Roen

Yep, oddly for a diving bird they don't have the natural oils to make the water run off them like say a duck would. That's why they have to 'hang themselves out to dry'.
Good stuff shots wise, it's a pity you couldn't get closer though. I see a 400mm in your future