Nesting cormorant

It's fascinating to watch birds collecting nesting material. They're often very fussy about it. And when a bird finds just the piece it's been looking for, it will spend a lot of time and effort to secure that perfect straw or shred of bark.

This great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) wasn't having much luck today. Cormorant beaks are excellent for catching fish but not so good for carrying reeds.






I watched for a while but the poor bird didn't manage to pick it up again. I felt like wading in to help but decided to leave the cormorant to its own devices.