I noticed them on the Anacortes ferry dock about a month ago. The ones I saw were 'nestled' under a little overhang on the top of the 'pilings'. When I saw them they were definitely Pelagic as were most of the cormorants, but there were a few DC.

The bills are thin and stature of the birds in your photo is noticeably smaller than DC. And I'm pretty sure that DC always have a certain amount of yellow gulag pouch.

HTH,

Tom Benedict
Seahurst, WA



> On Aug 21, 2023, at 17:32, Trileigh Tucker <TRI at seattleu.edu> wrote:

>

> Hi Tweets,

>

> From the ferry about to leave the Anacortes dock for San Juan Island on Friday, I spotted two active cormorant nests <https://www.flickr.com/photos/trileigh/53133621873/in/dateposted/> amid a bunch of standing cormorants.

>

> An experienced birder standing next to me identified the nesting birds (and presumably most of the others) as Double-cresteds. But I'm leaning toward Pelagic, based on the thin beak and the lack of orange skin around the base of the beak. Before I post the sighting on eBird, I'd love to get your take. Lighting was poor (backlit), but I've lightened the photo <https://www.flickr.com/photos/trileigh/53133621873/in/dateposted/> to try to get enough detail to confirm species. What do you think?

>

> Thanks much,

> Trileigh

>

>

> Trileigh Tucker

> Pelly Valley, West Seattle

> NaturalPresenceArts.com <http://naturalpresencearts.com/>

>

>

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