Those who are fortunate enough to be able to travel internationally usually return home having had many new and vastly different experiences. The stark dissimilarities are especially noticeable when traveling in Asia’s far eastern locales.
While the 21st century’s shared technologies have homogenized much of daily life, there are still some unique cultural practices and perspectives lurking in the recent past. These age-old approaches are sometimes continued by traditionalists who appreciate their heritage.
Commercially catching fish for food is one of those universal occupations that was accomplished very differently in China and Japan in centuries past. As odd as it may first sound, birds were used to bring the fish to market.
Cormorants, a coastal aquatic genus, have been used in eastern Asia’s maritime provinces for over a millennium. With a restrictor placed around its neck and a tether on one leg, these excellent swimmers with a taste for fish literally bring home the big one to their owner.
Local cormorants are a common site in and around local waters. Their fishing skills are the envy of anglers everywhere.
Their American cousins, the double crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), ply the waters in and around north Florida. It is their good fortune that earlier residents never considered the potential of using their fishing skills.
While the local birds are smaller than the species on the far side of the globe, adults still weigh in at about four pounds with a wingspan of almost three feet. There are 40 individual species in this genus, and they are on every continent except Antarctica.
All members of this genus are excellent fishers, dining on any fish, eel or water snake which will fit into their beaks and down their throat. They use their webbed feet for propulsion when submerged and easily overtake any unsuspecting or careless aquatic residents.
They can be seen in fresh water or marine environments, but not far out to sea. These birds are sometimes mistaken for water turkeys (anhingas), as they have several similar characteristics.
Both species will perch after diving and spread their wings for drying. Additionally, both are dark in color, but their markings differ greatly.
The double crested cormorant has a distinctive orange throat patch and a stouter hooked bill, both of which are missing on water turkeys. In the first year of life, cormorants have a dark back but a much lighter underside.
The local cormorants use the cypress trees in river swamps as nesting sites. They nest in large groups which may include herons too.
Their nests are simple stick constructions and not long lasting. Nesting is a year-round possibility but is concentrated in March to August. Each pair produce only one clutch of eggs annually.
Chicks fledge in five to six weeks and leave the nest at two to two and half months of age. The species’ gregarious nature keeps them close to their flock.
In winter the local population is supplemented by migrants which flee the colder temperatures at the northern end of their range. Fortunately, local dietary resources are ample enough to support these seasonal visitors.
Curiously, the English common name for this species is “Shag”, likely because of the crest of birds in the British Isles. Unlike the shaggy mop-tops of the 1960’s, this bird can only utter a grunt.
It is just as well. If it was a proficient vocalist, the fish would likely be scared away.
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