Sunny Saltcoats

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BWalsh
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Sunny Saltcoats

Post by BWalsh »

Early morning sun.

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And two early morning sunbathers

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sweet caroline
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Re: Sunny Saltcoats

Post by sweet caroline »

Would that be Guillemons?


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chriso
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Re: Sunny Saltcoats

Post by chriso »

I think they're cormorants, or shags.
Cormorant and shag are two similar looking closely related and frequently confused bird species. They are both black, reptilian-like, fish eating water birds that swim low on the water with their heads up tilted towards the sky. Both are diving birds and when resting can be found sat upright on rocks in their familiar spread-eagle pose.
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iain
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Re: Sunny Saltcoats

Post by iain »

You get both Cormorants and Shags along the Three Towns coast, but these two are Cormorants.

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michaelm
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Re: Sunny Saltcoats

Post by michaelm »

Great looking photo's there, B Walsh and chriso.

One I snapped at a small freshwater local Loch (the rec quarry).
I thought .. 'Cormorant' but then found out about another similar looking and closely related bird - the Shag.
So I'm still not 100% sure if it's one or the other.

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I've read that the main reason they swim quite low in the water is because they don't have good natural waterproofing on their feathers and that might also explain why they've evolved to hold their wings out in spreadeagle fashion - I suppose it helps them dry off far quicker before their next Dive and makes take-off a whole lot easier.
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