Anacapa Island - Brandt's, Pelagic & Double-crested Cormorants

Sea Lions, Cormorants, Pelicans, and Gulls, Oh My!

An arch on the wild side of Anacapa Island, Channel Islands Nat. Park, CA; 6/19/2011.

California Sea Lions resting after a hard day's work, Anacapa Island, Channel Islands Nat. Park, CA; 6/19/2011.

It seems like the majority of the wildlife we saw on our Anacapa Island Wildlife Cruise were Western Gulls, Brown Pelicans, Sea Lions (Above), and Cormorants. The three different species of Cormorants we saw were Double-crested (Below - which I have seen in many places before), Brandt's and Pelagic, both which are new additions to my Life List (#308-309).

A rookery of Double-crested Cormorants, Anacapa Island, Channel Islands Nat. Park, CA; 6/19/2011.

Double-crested Cormorant, Anacapa Island, Channel Islands Nat. Park, CA; 6/19/2011.

Double-crested Cormorants have a lifespan of 16 years compared to most wild birds that only live 6 - 7 years.

Brandt's Cormorants, Anacapa Island, Channel Islands Nat. Park, CA; 6/19/2011.

Brandt's Cormorants were a new species for me. They can be found all along the Pacific Coast from the Baja Peninsula to British Columbia. They are simmilar in size and shape of Double-crested Corm. Where Double-crested Cormorants have an orange throat and lores, the Brandt's have a pale throat patch (Above & Below) on an otherwise dark body.

A flight of Brandt's Cormorants hanging around a Brown Pelican, which appears to be "King of the Hill" on this rock on Anacapa Island, Channel Islands Nat. Park, CA; 6/19/2011.

Brandt's Cormorants (the one on the right shows its blue chin), Anacapa Island, Channel Islands Nat. Park, CA; 6/19/2011.

Some Brandt's Cormorants have a blue chin next to its pale throat patch (Above).

Pelagic Cormorants, Anacapa Island, Channel Islands Nat. Park, CA; 6/19/2011.

Another new species for me was the Pelagic Cormorant (Above & Below), which is quite smaller than Double-crested and Brandt's. Pelagics grow to 28" long, while D-C and Brandt's can get up to 33" - 34".  Pelagics are dark all over and other than its smaller size, a very good identifying trait is its very thin dark bill.

A Pelagic Cormorant flying over tghe bay at Anacapa Island, Channel Islands Nat. Park, CA; 6/19/2011.

A sunset brightening up storm clouds in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming; 6/15/2006.