Cormorant

*A large black waterbird. We think anyway.

To mine & Jenny's dismay it doesn't quite fit the bill, if you'll pardon the unintentional pun, of a Shag, which we can assure you is a British Bird, & nothing more.

I'd been out in the garden with Jacky & the Chickens, taking a few shots of this afternoons round up, came in, to give the camera a well earned rest, when Ma spotted this chap swimming pm the lake, seemingly checking out the area or searching for something. I raced for the camera &, knowing how jumpy Pelonius the Heron is, I gingerly padded out onto the patio.

He looked like a Heron, of the grey variety, just a little smaller, but on closer inspection, & using my Collins Nature Guide on Birds of Britain & Europe, he appears to be a Cormorant. He had a hooked bill at the tip & he was swimming low in the water.. & of course the picture on p.19 looks very similar, so I'm fairly sure.

After a few minutes of checking the joint out, he decided to hit the air & he flew very courteously off across the lake. Despite his generosity, I was only able to take blurry shots, but I was still in luck. He did a complete 360 sweep, flying back over the lake again & thankfully I got a few clear shots. How I would love more animals to be as Blip-minded as Cameron the Cormorant (we're watching House M.D. at this very moment, hence the name).

Good Blip hunting.

Oddie out.