Bird Watching or Twitching in Andalucia Southern Spain
November 2005, Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo
If you are crossing the bridge across the river at Sotogrande port and you see a large dark bird with an extended neck and short wings flapping for England and going nowhere fast then the chances are it is a cormorant. Like the bee, this bird should not be able to fly but it does, sometimes considerable distances. It dives and swims better than it flies, hunting its food; fresh fish. When on a perch it often stands with its wings outstretched, as if hung out to dry. There are many pairs currently wintering in the estuary of the Rio Guadiaro at Sotogrande.