The Story
I photographed this Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) at La Jolla Shores in San Diego, California, United States. The crests appear in the breeding season and give the bird its common name. It lives near rivers, lakes and coasts across much of North America and mainly eats fish, hunting by swimming and diving. Large colonies also live inland, including around the Salton Sea in the California desert. After diving, it spends long periods standing with its wings spread out to dry. IUCN lists it as Least Concern.
I photographed it with a Canon R5 and the RF 800mm f/11, at 1/1500 sec, f/11, ISO 1600, −1.5 EV. The waters off La Jolla are protected in part as a marine reserve, and the coast here is popular with snorkelers, swimmers and divers.
©2023 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) belongs to the family Phalacrocoracidae (Cormorants and Shags) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2018), with the population trend listed as increasing. Source: IUCN Red List