great cormorants; silhouettes & orchestrated nest building

Silhouettes of the great cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo, against a murky sky on a misty September morning at the Periyar National Park, Thekkady.

Silhouette of the Great Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo, at Periyar wildlife sanctuary, Thekkady

Each bird seems to be in its own mood… and as you watch them, the mood slowly grows into you… Click on the images to see a larger version and get close to each bird!

Silhouette of the Great Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo, at Periyar wildlife sanctuary, Thekkady

Nesting of the Great Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo, at Periyar wildlife sanctuary, Thekkady

Orchestrated nest building… the cormorant parents seem to be moving as in an orchestra, holding the long twig with their beaks. Both male and female actively participate in the nest building process.

Nesting of the Great Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo, at Periyar wildlife sanctuary, Thekkady

Do you know that, in Japan, these cormorants have been traditionally trained to catch fish? The tradition is known as ukai. The necks of the cormorants are tied to the boats, tight enough to prevent swallowing. The fishes are later retrieved by the fishermen.

 

Location of the Periyar National Park, Thekkady:
Periyar National Park, Thekkady [maxlat=9.65;minlat=9.20;maxlon=77.30;minlon=76.60;maptype=G_MAP_TYPE;overviewmapcontrol=show;zoom=9]

9 Responses

  1. Anoop John says:

    I have not been following you guys for some time. But saw Roxy’s new pics on Orkut and thought of touching base. Nice to see that you guys are together. BTW I have started following you on Google Reader. So I should be knowing what you are upto provided you keep this blog updated.

    • rocksea says:

      dey anoop, great to see you here. we are having a great time here in italy. so if you see our photos in orkut, that means we have little time to blog out and vice versa.. 😀

      but sure, we have a lot of content waiting to get uploaded,,
      will be updating more frequently.

  2. sarah says:

    Hey Marlin, since you always fantasised to be a bird, let me dedicate the song “I’m like a bird” by Nelly Furtado to you…just happens to be the song that came to my mind when I read you. 🙂

    Binoy! Welcome to our page and thank you for your appreciation on my sweetheart’s 😉 work here.

  3. Binoy says:

    hello Roxy!…I am very new visitor to your website…well, my sweetheart* probed me into visiting…although she’s such a big critic, but she’s all praises about the work done here…i totally second her….great work, keep it up!

    (sweetheart* – MARLIN)

  4. Marlin says:

    ahaa….thanks!….thats a complement or should i say ‘a dream come true’…coz i have always fantasized to be a bird…:D

  5. rocksea says:

    marlin kunje, if you watch closely, one of the birds looks just like you.. 😀

  6. Marlin says:

    hey Roxy…the pics are stunning…indeed a symphony!
    the feeling and mood in the pic kinda sinks in…just wondering what these birds are pondering on…:)

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