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Wild Life Leaflet
Vipers Bugloss
Goldfinch
Egyptian geese
Pike
Lynx
Cyclamen
Bees
Hedgehog
Cormorant
Cranes
Rats
Pine Martin
Birches
Moths
Crows
Wrens
Guillemots
Swans
Colney Nature Watch
A series of articles on the wild life in London Colney
Cormorant

You're at the seaside. You see a large black bird, with a slight mauvish tinge to its feathers. It is almost certainly a cormorant, Cormorants have white patches on their faces, and when they've caught more fish than they can eat - they carry them in a yellow pouch beneath their throat Summertime, there are around ten thousand pairs breeding in the UK: in the winter - rather more. Moroccan readers will know the Moroccan sub species has a white breast, and Chinese readers have probably noticed the Chinese sub-species has a greenish tinge to its feathers.
The only Biritsh bird you are likely to confuse with a cormorant is the shag - which is darker, smaller and has a steeper fore-head.
You will always see cormorants if you go to the RSPB reserve at Rye House - in the Lee Valley. They are common in the Thames, particularly between Tower Bridge and Westminster Bridge. I've only once seen a cormorant in our village - at Long Lake one wet Saturday in August. Whenever you see lots of cormorants - you know there is a healthy, breeding population of fish. Cormorants eat mainly fish - and many anglers would like to see them all exterminated. However, others have a healthy respect of cormorants. The City of Liverpool's coat of arms carries a shield, and on it there's a cormorant with a piece of seaweed in its beak. People who would like to see the end of cormorants should ponder the example of Chinese fishermen - who use them to help catch fish