Subject: Unknown cormorant obs. in P.A. harbor
Date: Jun 15 11:55:27 2004
From: Bruce Moorhead - bruceb at olypen.com


Thanks, Bob. But this experience makes me rather wary now of any "Red-faced Cormorant" reports in Port Angeles harbor, especially during breeding season and alternate plumage time--unless, as Tom Aversa suggests, a sufficiently detailed description a/o photo is included. In particular, how much red is where on the head, not just base of bill, and how much white on back. Also, larger-morph Pelagic Cormorant individuals may apparently occur throughout the bird's range. Moreover, while Sibley's original (large) guide book adequately clarifies these field mark differences visually, his smaller and more portable "western field guide" does not (e.g., omits showing the red at base of bill in alternate plumage Pelagics).

The cormorant I saw rather closely yesterday: Was about 100 ft from it when it appeared on the surface along the inner shoreline of the harbor. It was clearly larger and had an obviously longer and thicker bill than a nearby Pelagic cormorant (that was only 20-30 ft away from it in the water), which clearly was smaller bodied and had a finer (shorter and slimmer) bill. I definitely saw some red around the base of the bill (I remember "lores" came to mind at the time). It was dark-black plumaged overall, but had more white streaking on the back than the usual, smaller white flank-patches of adult Pelagics in alternate plumage that I'm used to seeing here, particularly in flight. These white markings seemed streaky over a larger dorsal area than a Pelagic (I remember thinking that it looked abit like fecal droppings, "mutes") and most closely fit Harrison's (1983; p 298) description for an adult Brandt's in alternate plumage: "Whole plumage blackish with...whitish plumes on sides of head, neck, over scapulars and rump." Bruce

----- Original Message -----
From: Robert Boekelheide
To: Bruce Moorhead
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2004 9:01 AM
Subject: Re: Red-faced Cormorant obs. at Ediz Hook


Yes, there was a Red-faced Cormorant reported from PA Harbor on June 1st or 2nd, by Dave and Julie Jackson and two other friends, so it could still be out there.

One of the things to look on an alternate plumage RFCO is red above the bill on the forehead, plus lighter, yellowish bill. Pelagic Cormorants also have red faces during the breeding season, so just red around the base of the bill is not definitive.

Keep looking!

Bob B



On Jun 14, 2004, at 7:19 PM, Bruce Moorhead wrote:


At 4 p.m. today while walking (near the radio tower) on the outer Ediz Hook road along Port Angeles harbor on a windy day, I noticed a largish, thicker-billed dark black cormorant about 100 ft from me in the water near the shoreline, with a smaller and obviously finer-billed Pelagic Cormorant nearby about 30 ft from it. White was also obvious on the flanks and back of the larger bird, which didn't seem like a Brandt's (which are common here), so I put my binocs on it and to my surprise could see red coloring obvious around the base of the bill. The white markings were in rather dorsally prominent, ragged streaks along the back and flanks; guide book illustrations (in Sibley and Harrison) indicate only more delimited patches of white on the flanks, similar to those on Pelagic Cormorants.

Didn't one of you Bob's see a Red-faced Cormorant here too recently? What's the past history of them being around here; this is the first one I've seen one in all my years here.

Bruce Moorhead
Port Angeles, WA
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