Cormorant Poop & Its Scoop

 
There it was, rising like Mount Kilimanjaro up out of a tiny cove Sound side.

Without missing a beat I dubbed the site “Mount Kilimanguano”.  This poop-capped rock is a rest for local Cormorants reaching their great ascent of over population and its resulting overload of nitrogen “dumping” grounds.

Just peer through your binoculars at South Dumpling and you’ll see the bare bones devastation nesting Cormorants have caused.

While I am not making these sea birds out to be villains-I realize they are high on some eradication lists out there- over the decades Cormorant colonies have dealt a blow to our Fishers Island Sound.

The Scoop: Highly acidic content of guano changes soil chemistry, kills vegetation, and irreversibly damages nesting trees. Increased erosion results, especially on sand spits and barrier beaches.

The Scoop: Cormorants are opportunistic-vying for nest territory-competing with our (remaining) local Common and Least Terns.

The Scoop: Cormorants are adaptable foragers-feeding and feeding! on a variety of fish species.

The Scoop: Cormorants along with their poop are documented in abundance at all 12 sites monitored here on Fishers Island.