Cormorants and Murres, Oh My

As thrilling as it was to see the Humpback Whales, I was just as fascinated by the Harbor Seals

because I didn’t immediately recognize them as Harbor Seals.  The Harbor Seals I know are almost inevitably gray and black, but many of these seals were pure white,  and there was even a jet black one.  

There are lots of Cormorants in Puget Sound, but this is the first time I’ve seen a colony with chicks

and I want to go back with my 500mm lens w/doubler and tripod and really focus in on the chicks and nests.

A Common Murre is even rarer in Puget Sound, 

and I’ve only seen colonies of birds this large on TV.  I still wonder how a parent can locate its offspring in a colony like this, 

much less how it can even manage to land without crashing into a fellow Murre.

It was an amazing experience that bears repeating next year, perhaps when the chicks are younger so they are easier to spot.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.