The Cormorant is a bird I’ve been aware of since I was a kid, thanks to my dad introducing me to Noggin the Nog. My favourite character was Graculus, a talking Cormorant, or so I thought!
After a quick Google search, I now suspect Graculus is probably a Shag, given his crest and green plumage. Still, I won’t let that ruin a perfectly good segue into the rest of this post.
I took a walk from Hanwell along the River Brent to Osterley Lock. Just before you go over the second bridge before the flyover, there’s a small wooded area I’ve been meaning to explore for a while.
At the point where the River Brent splits and loops around to rejoin the canal, I spotted a family of cormorants resting on branches in the water. The river isn’t very wide at that point, so I was able to get close enough to capture some decent shots. I’ve marked the location on a map at the bottom of this post, in case you fancy exploring this section of the Grand Union Walk yourself.
All the photos here were taken with my Nikon Z8, coupled with the Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR and edited using Nitro for ipad.
Since moving to Hanwell, I’ve often seen Great Cormorants diving for fish or perched on the banks with their wings outstretched to dry off.
Fun fact: Apparently, they dry off like this because their feathers aren’t waterproof. Soaked feathers cut down the amount of air trapped within their plumage and helps reduce buoyancy enabling them to dive more effectively.
Getting this close gave me a whole new appreciation for the Cormorant. I’d always thought of them as just black birds, but up close, their feathers have a navy-blue, Elvis-like sheen. In the right light, their wings are metallic bronze, with plumage that is almost scale-like. Add their long, reptilian neck and piercing green eyes and they have a distinctly prehistoric vibe. They remind me of those little dinosaurs at the start of Jurassic Park 2.
Up close, their feathers have a navy-blue Elvis-like sheen.
I’ve been back a few times and the family of Cormorants are always there.
This area, in general, was a decent spot for bird photography. There are plenty of fallen trees to stabilise your camera on and also use for cover. While I was there, I spotted a Green Woodpecker, a few Long-Tailed Tits, a Kingfisher (briefly), and a Little Grebe, which I’d never seen along that stretch of the canal before.
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