Posted by sarah pletcher on September 12, 2007

Q: Today on our small New Hampshire pond, a whole flock of birds landed. They spent the day catching fish- 6" fish could be seen squirming in their bills, as they dove down and back. The birds were entirely a warm brown, with a bright orange yellow pointed bill. when they weren't eating fish, they floated around on the surface in a group like ducks. They were not much larger than ducks. At the end of the afternoon, they all flew away. Any ideas? My 9 year old son thinks they might be Night herons, I thought they looked a little like grebes, but in the end we suspect they are a type of cormorant based on their fishing.

Can you help??? Sorry we don't have photos.

Habitat: pond/lake

State: New Hampshire

Habitat: pond/lake

A: After reading your description, I think you're correct that they're cormorants. The Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) is the species that's likely to have visited your pond although they tend to focus on larger bodies of water. Your description of the yellow bill and warm brown coloration plus fishing behavior certainly points to this species. If you can remember whether their bill had a hook at the end, that would pretty much clinch the identification. Although Night Herons do fly in loose groups at times, they would fish along the shore or in shallow water, they wouldn't be diving. The Red-necked Grebe does have an orangeish bill and fishes by diving but you should have seen some reddish brown coloration and/or pale throat if it had been this species.

Check out this website and see if my ID looks correct at www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov Thanks for writing and I hope you'll continue to use the Enaturalist website.

John Wiessinger ( September 13, 2007)