Not So Flimsy

 

 

My most recent paddling adventure

was to a nesting ground for terns, gulls, and cormorants.

 

 

 

 

Nesting season is long over,

so there was no danger of disturbing the birds.

 

I was fascinated with the cormorants nests in particular.

 

 

Many of the sticks they use are finger thick,

and you can see, quite long.  They are not so carefully

woven in, out, and around.

They'll carry sticks to the nest from as far away

 as several kilometers.

 

 

"Ground-nesting sites are characteristically on
low-lying rock islands or reefs,

away from or with little or no vegetation",

therefore they will build their nest up against anything

that might offer some protection from the weather.

 

 

 

 In many locations, especially in treetops,

cormorants will reuse nests from year to year.

Some of them get quite large. 

But winter storms can be pretty severe here,

and although they are not flimsy in the least,

none of these looked as though they'd been reused.

I'm guessing they have to rebuild each new season.

 

There were well over 100 nests scattered

all the way down to the end of this spit of land.

The male gathers the nesting material and the female

guards the nest against theives.

Judging from the concentrated population,

that must be an endless, frustrating job.

 

 

 

 

Here is a picture of a gull's nest for comparison,

 

 

flat and matted, almost like peat moss.

The majority of the gull's nest were found in the grasses.

 

 

Oh!  Did I say "flimsy"?

I finished one just this morning!

 

 

A bright and happy, scrappy 

Fons and Porter's Flower's for Hanna.

My goal is to complete it by Christmastime

to gift a friend.

Our parents were best of friends,

and I was only 7 months old when she was born.

We are literally lifelong friends,

just shy of 60 years.