I often mention the incredible sights I see over Lake Michigan. The gorgeous sunrises are my utter favorite of course. However, a rather peculiar sight caught my eye when walking along the path beside Lake Michigan the other day. I could hardly believe my eyes! I had never, ever seen this type of bird before!
There he was, standing on some old iron bits from a preexisting dock; his black feathers were shiny from the sun’s rays beating down onto Lake Michigan. As it so happens, a woman was attempting to feed this bird some bread. Apparently this species of bird doesn’t care much for Wonderbread crumbs, and didn’t take one single bite. Ah, but the seagulls wanted in on the snack. With what can only be described as a scene from a bad bird movie, in swooped at least a half-dozen seagulls. This riled the black bird terribly, so he spread his wings in defiance, not realizing the seagulls were not interested in him, but merely the soaked bread offerings floating on the lake.
I had to ‘google’ his features to try to find out who he is! It turns out this is a, “Double-crested Cormorant. Apparently they are native to North America, live in coastal areas and fresh-water lakes. Why I have never seen one I do not know. Interestingly enough, this bird does not have fully waterproof feathers. Although this particular fellow decided to ‘fend off’ the seagulls by spreading his wings, they also do this for long periods of time to ‘dry out’ their wings. I think that is why he didn’t fly away when besieged with seagull ‘snipers’.
I have named him, “Cormie”; do be on the lookout for him, won’t you? He’s bound to be flapping about somewhere on the North American continent!
The Chicago Files 