It's been spotted on the canal in King's Cross for a few months now (it's kind of adopted Holly), and it's obviously not a native to British inland waters. But what is it? It sits very low in the water, and spends most of the time diving for fish. Curiouser and curiouser.
My bird book says it's a young cormorant, but what's it doing in the canal?
ReplyDeleteWhen I worked in Paddington Basin we used to have one in the canal there. It would perch on our 7th floor balcony with its wings out to dry (water doesn't flow off a cormorant's back like it does off a duck's apparently). I also see one in the Thames by Vauxhall Bridge some days. There's something a bit prehistoric about them I reckon.
ReplyDeleteAye, we get them hanging around on the fishing boats in Sunderland. They can also be tamed and used for fishing, like on that HSBC advert.
ReplyDeleteHa ha, I'll begin a training programme immediately! And there I was thinking we were special.
ReplyDeleteLike water off a cormorant's back doesn't have the same ring to it anyway.
Definitely a Cormorant; at least 4 share the Wear weirs with the Herons in Durham.
ReplyDelete`i've never seen one in Durham weir! Cool.
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