Very late Neotropic Cormorant – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
After a morning trip to Farmington Bay WMA that provided me with very few opportunities to photograph birds and that was very frustrating because it felt like the new year was getting off to a bad start my keen eyes and observation skills saved my day when later in the afternoon closer to home I noticed three cormorants hanging out together and scoped them with my lens.
What caught my eyes was that one of the cormorants was smaller, sleeker and darker than the other two birds and before I even scoped it through my lens I knew that I had found an out of season Neotropic Cormorant. I also knew that it was a very late sighting of this species for my location in northern Utah.
The birds were pretty far away though so I took several documentary photos of the cormorants to show the differences between the two species. I figured I would have to get lucky to be able to photograph the birds from a closer distance until I saw a woman walking a dog off leash that was headed towards the cormorants. All of the cormorants took flight to get away from the dog so I focused on the Neotropic Cormorant in flight and as it came in for a landing on the surface of the pond.
This photo shows the Neotropic Cormorant in flight in front of one of the Double-crested Cormorants and I think it shows the size difference between the two species nicely.
January sighting of a Neotropic Cormorant – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/1250, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
I’ve seen Neotropic Cormorants before and I have taken some rather poor quality images of them on previous occasions so I was pleased that these images turned out as well as they did considering that the Neotropic Cormorant was still quite a distance away.
It did seem odd to see this bird that is normally found in the tropical waterways of Central and South America in northern Utah on one of the coldest days of winter so far so I looked into January sightings of Neotropic Cormorants in northern Utah on eBird and found that there weren’t any from up here although some have been found in January near St George, Utah which is about 300 miles to the south.
I can also see on the species map at eBird that when I report this Neotropic Cormorant sighting to eBird that it will be from the northernmost latitude on the U.S. map for January of any year for this species. That is pretty exciting but now I wonder if it will survive the bitter cold snap we are having. I sure hope so since night time temps have been in the single digits.
Neotropic Cormorants are found in this area with increasing regularity during the warmer months of the year.
Ring-billed Gull flight on New Year’s Day – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light
Even though I was excited about my Neotropic Cormorant sighting I was also pleased as punch to photograph this gorgeous Ring-billed Gull flying in front of the snow-covered Wasatch Mountains in the distance and I can honestly say I was just as delighted to take this photograph as I was of the out of season cormorant.
A great way start off the New Year.
Life is good.
Mia
Click here to see more of my Neotropic Cormorant photos plus facts and information about this species.
What a great find, and you certainly are an acute observer. I wonder if its fat stores provide enough insulation to get it through the winter. Congrats on a first for the time and place sighting!
Wonderful way to start 2019! As much as I like the birds in your photographs (and congrats on the NC sighting!), for some reason, my eye is drawn to the patterns and colors of the water. Just beautiful!
Congrats on finding a rare species, at least for this time of year.
Great way to start 2019…excellent shots…I especially like the ringed bill gull…Beautiful ! Thanks Mia…
Beautiful ring billed gull! Terrific find seeing a Neotropic Cormorant! What a great start to 2019!
Thank you always for sharing your photos and experiences.
Happy New Year! What a fantastic find on New Year’s Day. That has to be a good omen.
Nice catch on the first day of 2019! Best of luck this year, and thanks for sharing your skills and passion.