I saw my first Double-Crested Cormorant this year at Rock Harbor a couple of days ago. What a treat! I love to watch them swim along and dive for food. They are so entertaining.

The Double-crested Cormorant is a medium-sized cormorant with an iridescent black body and an orange throat pouch. They frequently spread their wings to dry them.

This is the first one of the season for me… beautiful bird, don’t you think?

Phil and I decided to go for an early hike yesterday and then do a little bird watching. Rock Harbor is one of our favorite places as it seems to attract a lot of shore birds and diving birds. (Click blog link for photo of female.)

There, swimming around the harbor, were a male and a female Red-breasted Merganser. They were just beautiful. I love their long, thin red bill and and red eyes. Have you ever seen one?

The first photograph is of the male and the 2nd of the female. They look so different in their coloring. We always joke that the male looks like he’s having a “bad hair day.”