Double-crested Cormorant

Description:

Double-crested Cormorants are large waterbirds with small heads on long, kinked necks. They have thin, strongly hooked bills, roughly the length of the head. Their heavy bodies sit low in the water. Adults are brown-black with a small patch of yellow-orange skin on the face. Immatures are browner overall, palest on the neck and breast. In the breeding season, adults develop a small double crest of stringy black or white feathers.

Habitat:

Pintail Drive and Boardwalk in the Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge is a three mile driving loop through moist soil wetlands managed by the US Fish & Wildlife Service to provide feeding/resting habitat for wintering waterfowl. Excellent viewing of a variety of wildlife (lots of alligators!) as well as migratory birds year round. Huge waterfowl populations for viewing and photography opportunities in the fall and winter. There is a also a half mile accessible boardwalk with viewing scopes.

Notes:

Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge was established to preserve and protect wintering waterfowl and their habitat. It was the first refuge established under the auspices of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. The refuge is located approximately 25 miles southeast of Lake Charles, Louisiana, in north central Cameron Parish. It contains 9,621 acres that include fresh marsh, coastal prairie, and old rice fields (currently moist soil units). Located at the convergence of two major flyways, the refuge has an important role in management for migratory birds.