Another grey afternoon in central North Carolina at Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs N.C.
Not much bird action out there but it’s still nice to be outside despite the raindrops.

These Double crested Cormorants were having trouble drying off their wings in the rain. I watched them for a few minutes as they squawked and screeched at one another while Ring billed Gulls circled overhead looking for an easy meal of discarded prey.
The Cormorants dove repeatedly in search of fish and it was interesting to try and predict where they would pop up above the surface.

Sometimes it was as easy as following a trail of bubbles in the water but often they traveled a surprising amount of distance in a relatively short amount of time.
I also noticed that with every dive, the Cormorants seem to float half in/ half out with more than 50% of their bodies remained below the water line.
Birds that had dove more than 3 times eventually ended up looking like snakes with only their necks sticking above the surface.
The reason why is because Cormorants lack the protective oils which repel water (as found in ducks and geese) thus, their feathers can quickly become water logged causing them to paddle around in a semi-submerged state.
This is actually a good thing if your a bird who dives deep in search of fish but not so great for taking off in a hurry.
To dry their wings on a cloudy day, Cormorants like this one will flap their wings while floating on the open water for several minutes before they are able to take flight.

I, for one was grateful that these interesting birds stuck around for a while allowing me to try and get some photos of them flapping away the raindrops.

PS. They have blue eyes!
Crazy!

Photos by Sally Adams Siko @sally_siko & @birdwatching_nc
Canon 5DS