This weekend I made my first and second visits of the year to the Black Skimmer colony in Indian Rocks Beach.  As soon as I finish going through my thousands of shots, I’ll post some cute baby pictures.  But in the meantime, I started out my adventure on Saturday with an unlikely subject.  I always visit the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary when I visit the skimmers, and this time, a Double-crested Cormorant in breeding colors caught my eye.  You see, it was only this year that I understood why he’s called a “double-crested” cormorant.  He gets these tufts on the sides of his face during breeding season.  His eyes also turn a dazzling blue, as does his mouth.  So this spring one of my goals was to photograph a cormorant in breeding plumage.  I did find some crested birds and birds with blue eyes, but I never saw the bright blue mouth.  Until Saturday!

This guy wandered up and down the walkways of the sanctuary.   He doesn’t have crests, but look at his eyes and mouth!  He clearly wanted to get into the cage with the other birds, who are fed regularly while they are being rehabilitated.  He’d strut up and down the length of the cage, trying to find a hole to get in.  His struts were so regular that I was able to get out my camera, get down on my knees, and get a few head shots before he finally found his hole.  I left him bathing with glee!