LITTLE LIED CORMORANT
( Phalacrocorax melanoleucos)
It is a wonderful name, from the Greek phalakros bald + korak-, korax raven — plus from the Ancient Greek words melano- "black", and leukos "white". There you go!
It was a dull day today. A morning walk around the Kilmore Reservoir, met with very little bird activity. The reservoir, now in the middle of the Kilmore Golf course, was once the water supply and the swimming pool for Kilmore people. It is still a beautiful place, very close to the town centre. It is pleasing to see it used by residents as a place to walk, summer and winter. There is a nice coexistence between golfers and others.
The bird life is plentiful. It changes from season to season to season. In summer the corellas live in the trees and cause plenty of damage to the golf fairways as they dig up the roots of the grass. In autumn and spring the area is visited by the migratory ibis. The reservoir provides a welcome rest place on the journey.Kingfishers, missing over the summer, will soon be back
Today, a grey day, was very quiet. At about 3 o'clock, the sun came out and a few heads appeared.
A group of pied cormorants were quietly warming themselves, drying their wings on a log in the shallows.
Usually they are very wary but today I was able to get a little closer than other times. They seemed quite content to preen themselves as I crept a little closer.
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