Cormorants | The World's Most Hated and Reviled Bird...Why?

[@angusmcnaughton]

We call them “Shags” in New Zealand, we have our own species in my area the Otago Shag. They look fantastic flying low around the coastline in ‘line astern’ squadrons

[@Pukekoz]

I can't believe people hate cormorants they're so beautiful D:

[@TheVampB]

Have you seen the dead white trees where double crested cormorants perch upon like giant crows? Obviously it's a human bias, but they can be ominous. Also they move through the sky like a line of flying black crosses. I appreciate anyone who can appreciate these birds but I get creeps from them. Not their fault of course.

[@Pukekoz]

@@TheVampB I really can't be creeped out by a bird lol they're all just so cute to me

[@TheVampB]

@@Pukekoz I wish I can see them through your eyes (or the camera lighting used in this video), because there are so many of them where I live. 😂

[@Pukekoz]

@@TheVampB Theres alot of them where I live too! I like going down to docks and seeing them spreading their pretty wings!

[@InevitableMe]

They're far more chill than fairy penguins, that's for sure. I know this from experience.

[@lofestruck]

I was considering using a Cramorant on my pokemon team this morning and then I see this video posted for the bird it's inspired by. lol Another reason I'm happy to be subscribed to this channel.

[@rudimentaryadult]

The first time I encountered a cormorant was when I was taking a rest on a bike ride near a local lake in north Texas. I was in the shade, drinking some water, when all of the sudden I heard a cacophony of croaking and gutteral grunting. It was amazing and (honestly) a little disturbing. Lol. That experience made me love them even more. Great video!

[@JessicaLovely1]

I remember when I first saw cormorants swimming in Biscayne Bay south of Miami. Lovely Ocean ducks!

[@Nylak-Otter]

I like cormorants. They frequently keep me company while kayaking, and usually a couple will follow me around making use of my boat's shadow and paddle agitation to catch fish below me, then pop back up alongside. They're not at all shy, and will happily get close enough to be touched if you tried. My partner names all of our tagalong cormorants Jeff, for some reason. They all look mostly the same, so whenever one latches onto our kayaks and follows us around for an hour or so, she refers to them as, "Good old Jeff is back for some fishing today!" We're...easily amused.

[@fubberpish3614]

In my area in north-east Queensland, Australia, we get four cormorant species - the Pied Cormorant, Little Pied Cormorant, Little Black Cormorant and Great Cormorant. Of those, only Little Pied and Little Black are common, with Pied and Great relatively scarce. An additional species occurs on mainland Australia, the Black-faced Cormorant (which has got to be one of my favourites, they're such a stunning bird!). If you include Australia's offshore territories, you can add an additional cormorant species - the Macquarie Shag, from Macquarie Island (a subantarctic island that is owned by Australia).

[@jeffolson4731]

In the Puget Sound area of the PNW we have Brandt's Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, and Pelagic Cormorant. I mostly see Double-crested when I am out but all are possible to find.

[@holocoffin]

Watching these birds swim is amazing! They’re so incredible.

[@ratgirl13]

I’m going to write the unpopular thing: The greed, evil and gluttony comes from humans that hate anything that takes away from their money making endeavors. I think these birds are beautiful.

[@OspreyFlyer]

I agree. We are "voices crying out in the wilderness".

[@windasla6129]

We only have Great Cormorants where I live, and I was surprised to find out we did. I live essentially in the middle of Eurasia, far away from any sea or ocean. They feed on freshwater lakes here, and some even live on the lakes in the city. I've seen them a lot this summer, and watched them fish and then dry their wings. I've also just read that the similar concern about the "greed" of the cormorants eating fish are happening in lake Baikal, where people try to essentially make the cormorants there go extinct (they also make similar claims about the Baikal seal). Here in Russia, most people aren't well educated on ecology and birds, and the government isn't doing much protection either, so it's all pretty sad.

[@smidgen]

i saw one for the first time only a couple weeks ago, had no idea what it was but thought it was a stunning bird! i'm sad to hear they are so hated, i think they are beautiful and play a positive role in the ecosystem.

[@Masada1911]

They seem like pretty birds. I like them.

[@allthingsbirdie]

I appreciate the super thanks! Makes my day!

[@staffanlinnaeus1460]

In Sweden there is some controversy about the cormorants. Their droppings kill the vegetation on the islands where they live. This is clearly seen in the Stockholm archipelago.

[@naturemyeyes]

Hello! Very interesting video, thank you for sharing. Happy sunday!

[@travisbicklejr]

Great job as always! We have double-crested in my area.

[@brendakaytyson8542]

One of these flew in our yard today with a wounded wing. I live about 120 miles from the Gulf Coast and have never seen these birds here. I live near the Tombigbee River but have never seen them on the river

[@doubles6508]

Devastated fish stocks in parts of the UK. Pests.

[@miguelitojones8252]

Back home in Texas we call them water turkeys. Lol

[@OspreyFlyer]

I gave a birding presentation, local birds, at a garden club. In the Q&A a woman started complaining about the Double-crested Cormorants eating (all) the fish in the nearby lake. 🙄

[@mr_silver_eyes]

I was at the lake at my local park a year ago and I heard odd whooping that sounded like a loon, but I knew it couldn’t have been a loon since those don’t live in my state (Iowa), but it sounded so much like one that I was convinced it was a bird, but a different species. One that does live the majority of its life in water like a loon. I asked my mother what it was (She had taken me with her) and was told it was a grebe, and there is one kind, the pied-billed grebe, that sounds vaguely similar to what I heard, but it’s “screaming” call is higher in pitch and lasts somewhat longer. Now that I think about it, it’s possible it may have been a small dog barking or a woman screaming in a weirdly bird-like manner, but I might never know what it really was.

[@anniehill9909]

I love cormorants: they are amazing to watch and I enjoy listening to their astonishing range of vocalisations, when they are in their rookeries. I live on a boat and have the privilege of seeing them every day.. To the best of my knowledge and belief, fish and cormorants thrived side by side until human beings started infesting the planet. Just leave them in peace and let those of us who still have some love of nature, enjoy them.

[@fussEpoet]

How can u hate a bird?

[@helenamcginty4920]

I never heard that cormorants were anything other than a bird. The only bird name I heard connected with greed was gannet. And that only from my mum when we'd emptied our plates at top speed as kids well over half a century ago.

[@hrodvitnir7524]

arent there feces also really acidic? I think I saw a video about a colony near Toronto that destroyed local vegetation

[@jackvoss5841]

Cormorants are a poor man’s loon. I like paddling canoe or kayak around loons. I’ve paddled among cormorants too. But they are so submerged that they can easily be missed. Courtesy of Half Vast Flying

[@boreas-hiburnum8390]

I live by a pond where I’ve personally recorded approx. 40 different species of bird. I love our cormorants!

[@tuff-duty]

It is simply not true that people ( other than fish farmers) hate the cormorant. Cormorants are my favorite bird. They fly, they float, they swim like a fish!

[@maceosikes]

Why do they dry their wings like that? I don't see other sea birds doing it nearly as much

[@allthingsbirdie]

I'll cover this in another, shorter video! Stay tuned.

[@angusmcnaughton]

Oil coated feathers for waterproofing?

[@nefelpitou]

Cormorants used to be considered noble in medieval european culture because of the resemblance of their wing-drying pose to the crucifix.

[@martachtman1285]

they're great birds.

[@dinathefossilfighter]

I think they are cute birds. There is even a goofy Pokemon based off them.

[@fartingasmr7636]

This video and other videos like it are otherwise enjoyable, well made, and informative, but the audio mixing for the sound effects is WAY too loud and distracting

[@EyeSeeThruYou]

It's yet another sad commentary on humans, having projected our bad behavior onto these birds, then proceeding to persecute them. Humans don't need to eat fish to survive (wanting and needing aren't the same). The birds do, however. We're always in the wrong.

[@dudalina9223]

Where I live only the neotropic cormorant is the only species to be found. Sometimes you can see hundreds of them flying around in V formations, it's an amazing sight

[@matthewhallman4358]

I recently rescued a cormorant from some fishing line. I looked them up, to learn that Ontario Canada is about to open up a kill and waste hunting season on cormorants. I wish it were otherwise. I don’t think it’s the act of intelligent, conscientious people. Cormorants should be protected like all forms of life

[@SeverusFelix]

They'll eat up an entire acre tank full of fish But I mean Fish are delicious

[@happiman9484]

Coreman

[@GoldenShrike]

Nah seagulls are the worst birds out there. Adorable af when theyre babies and juveniles but as adults… oh boy