Cormorant dries on buoy, Prospect Park, Brooklyn NY
I saw this creature from across the lake in Prospect Park. I think it's a Cormorant. But it was far away, and a little hard to tell even through binoculars.
As I got closer, it flies away so I thought I'd missed an opportunity to get a photo, and identify it well.
But I hung around for a while, and it wasn't too long before it came back! Landed on the next buoy over, but from this part of the lake, I could get a much better shot.
Turned out great because it took a moment to dry out its wings this time around, so I got to capture that behavior instead of it just sitting there!
This appears to be a juvenile Double Crested Cormorant. This is the most common type of Cormorant in North America. They hang out on rocks, tree limbs, docks with wings spread to dry after fishing.
Great sighting and very nice photos. Not sure if you've seen the "Project Feederwatch" posts from @etcmike, but that type of activity might be of interest to you.
Related: Free market environmentalists have a saying about endangered species: "If it pays, it stays". I have long thought that with enough funding and the right curation strategy, wildlife photography like this on the Steem blockchain could turn into a free market method to protect, and even reinvigorate some endangered species. I'm going to make an effort to post some wildlife photos from my region during the next few months.
I haven't seen Project Feederwatch, but good call. Sounds like something I'd be interested in.
I'd like to learn how to take better photos, but I do enjoy talking pictures with my phone. I hold it up to my scope or binoculars when I don't take an attachment with me. It's a little difficult, but can sometimes get some nice shots.
It's love to see some wildlife photos from you!
I've thought something similar about an app I'd like to work on. Sort of like Pokemon Go, but with real wildlife. Folks could "capture" creatures by spotting them in the wild, and sharing location so others could go look for the creature in the same area. We participate in the annual bird count, and I envision something like that, but value share as incentive. Rewards for being the first to spot and document something, for instance....
I don't remember if I showed you this before, but I even mentioned Pokemon Go. ;-)
The only drawback I have thought of is that you'd have to make sure that incentives don't cause people to intentionally make animals more rare in order to increase their in-game value.
Haha! Nope, I never read that article of yours. Fascinating that we came up with such a similar idea.
In my version (in my head—I also didn't find the time to flesh it out or implement it), there are stakeholders like wildlife refuges, rehabilitation centers, nature societies, and so on who could customize the "games" to be on brand and whatnot. In that case, I was designing specifically for the Steem blockchain; I thought it could be their funds that supported the Steem community, which would make sense from a marketing perspective for them.
Anyway, we can add it to the list of ideas we should work on together. Thanks for linking!
Oi! I hadn't even thought about drawbacks.
It's probably not the only one, but definitely worth considering!
I like all your shots , in the part where you say that it was possibly drying their wings, I think you took advantage of that time very well to be able to take a closer photo , I had never seen this animal , I already know the name thanks to you .
I wish you a happy start to the week
Thank you @lupega.
I've learned through my own experience, and what I've read about photography that so much of getting a good shot is the result of patience. I was glad I took my time in the park that day, and got to witness the event.
Icing on top that I captured it!