A message from Chip Weseloh about color-banded cormorants:
The Canadian Wildlife Service, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, New
York State DEC, Wildlife Trust, Cornell University, and the USDA have been
cooperating with various other researchers in New York the Great Lakes Basin
and adjacent waters to colour-band as many Double-crested Cormorants as
possible. At present more than 18,000 cormorants have been colour-banded in
Lakes Ontario, Huron, Superior, various Great Lakes rivers and adjacent
waters from Lake of the Woods to James Bay to Lake Champlain and New York
harbour. We are asking Ontario birders to keep watch for cormorants with
plastic coloured leg-bands. All plastic bands also carry a combination of
numbers and/or letters. If you see a colour-banded cormorant, please make
every effort to record the colour of the plastic band and the characters on
it. Sightings are of particular interest during this, the autumn migration
period, because of the wide range over which cormorants have been banded and
because we are particularly interested in Movements of birds.....so, get out
there and scan those legs !!!
Please send all observations to
chip.weseloh@ec.gc.ca