Recently I had the joy of going birding with a local group in a small park in Brookhaven, Georgia. We saw over 33 species.

I was surprised that members of the group were excited to see double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus). There is a common misconception about them that I have heard mostly due to the increase in their population, particularly on Lake Champlain in Vermont, where I grew up. When DDT was banned in 1972, it opened the door for the cormorant population to expand and it did. On Lake Champlain, the populations went from one breeding pair in 1981 to over 4,500 breeding pairs. Cormorants are piscivorous, meaning that they consume fish. Their population growth raised concerns with fisherman, one of which who told me that cormorants are an invasive species. To further this belief, the state of Vermont in 1999 began to oil the eggs of the birds. This prevents gas exchange and kills the birds in the eggs. The birds prefer to eat fish that are between 3 to 6 inches. On Lake Champlain, it has been shown that most of their diet is yellow perch (Perca flavescens) and alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus). Rarely are trout and salmon found in their stomachs, except when the fish are released annually into the lake from fish stocking facilities.

For more information about Cormorants

We also saw 17 tufted titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor), which I learned to identify by their classic peter-peter-peter call. They are year-round residents of this area and in most of the Eastern United States. They often flock with chickadees, nuthatches, and woodpeckers. Flocking means that predators are less likely to capture one as more birds are on the lookout for them. Food gathering efficiency is also increased by flocking behavior. In addition, there is reduced inter-species aggression which reduces competition. If you would like to attract tufted titmouse to your property they visit bird feeders and also benefit from nesting boxes. It is important to place a guard around nesting boxes to protect from predators and to place the boxes up well before breeding season.

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