My spouse Denise is an enthusiastic and skilled nature photographer.  She does not do this for a living (although she probably could), but out of the pleasure it gives her to catch bits and pieces of the real world in her pictures.  So, last month she was walking up to one of her usual haunts, a pair of recharge ponds near Penatencia Creek in eastern San Jose, when she spotted a couple of boys trying to shoo a large, dark bird out of a gated enclosure.  She went over to investigate.  The boys had found a young double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) that had somehow gotten lost and were trying to persuade it to move towards the nearby ponds.

Denise started helping them and as they worked to guide the wayward bird to the water, it became clear that it was weak and probably in need of food.  So the kids went off to try and find it something to eat and Denise continued working it to the ponds.  When she the the bird got there, it made no effort to fly away. We learned later from the wildlife rescue people that because of the arrangement of their legs, cormorants can only take off from water, not land.  Moreover, this one could swim, but was frankly too weak to fly.  So it just stood next to Denise and kind of followed her around. A couple of other kids were there and asked, “Is that your bird?”

The young, lost, and malnourished double-crested cormorant swimming along the edge of the recharge pond near Penetencia Creek, San Jose, CA. Photo by Denise Greaves.

“No,” replied Denise, “it’s lost and probably starving.  It needs help.” At about this time, my cell phone rang and Denise apprised me of the situation, and asked me what I thought she should do.  I offered to call around and find some wildlife rescue center that could take the bird.  After a few calls, I found one that was probably less than a half a mile from her location.  I also offered to come back and pick up a blanket and cat carrier we could use to transport it.

A call to the wildlife rescue center confirmed that they could take the cormorant, and I drove home to pick up the items we’d need to get it there.

Meanwhile, back at the pond, one young man had a fishing pole and asked if the bird ate fish.  Denise responded that it did, and the young man offered to try and catch some fish for it.  Denise assented, but told him that I would be arriving in about a half hour to take the bird away.  He made her promise not to leave without telling him, and told her where he would be fishing.  The kids who had offered to find some food for the bird meanwhile returned with a loaf of white bread, which the bird kind of picked  at unenthusiastically.

Approximately 30 minutes later, I showed up.  I walked from the parking area toward the ponds, and there was Denise, with the young cormorant standing beside her.  It almost looked like a pet, and I could see why onlookers thought it was hers.  It was easy to wrap up the cormorant in the small blanket I had brought and put it into the cat carrier.  We were ready to leave, but Denise had a promise to keep, and went to find the kid with the fishing pole.  He was as good as his word; when they returned, he was carrying a bucket with four small fish (about three or four inches long).  I got the cormorant back out and we put the fish in front of it.  They were slicked down with relish in the space of about eight seconds.  I don’t know the identity of that young man, but I’m guessing he did a lot to help that bird’s chances of survival with that snack.

Another shot of our wayward cormorant friend before we took it to the wildlife rescue center. Photo by Denise Greaves.

Checking the bird into the wildlife center was fairly routine.  We were warned that not all animals make it, and in such cases they were humanely euthanized.  We nodded and  said we understood.  They gave us a case number so we could check the bird’s progress.

It turned out well.  The bird regained its strength on a diet of smelt and on 01 September, was released back into the wild.

What impressed both Denise and myself about this episode was the willingness of the local kids to help.  Although they were kind of new at this and unfamiliar with avian life forms, they were ready to do what they could to save this animal.  It was a very affirming experience.  It demonstrated that there are people among the next generation who do care about the natural  world.