Following my last post about the birds around lake di Como (you can find it here!), time to share a few more photos, starting with the watcher in duty!
The great cormorant is a very common species, but that doesn't diminish their photogenic looks. And the fact that they stood perching on high places, scouting the lake, made for pretty decent photos.
I saw them flying very frequently, but around Como, where I was staying, they normally perched for huge amounts of time.
This wasn't the species I enjoyed photographing the most, thow. As most birdwatchers can relate, seeing a bird species for the first time is always a moment of joy. And after 20 yeards birwatching, those opportunities tend to become rarer, even if I'm not a hardcore birdwatcher. That's why during one of the hikes along the lake margin, I was thrilled when these guys appeared!
Goosanders are big diving ducks, and I didn't recognize the species at first. According to my field guide, I was really lucky, because the are normally found only on northern europe, and their distribution map has just a small area in the northern Italy where it's possible to find them! So I was even more thrilled!
And in this species, I'm actually undecided about which one I find more beautiful, male or female. With birds, normally the male steals the show everytime. But the female, on the photo above, with that small brown crest, is lovely.
Or maybe I'm biased, because the female photos were way more luckier, I even caught her landing!
The male also had a good color contrast, white and black. Supposedly the black head has greenish reflexes, but I couldn't find it on the photo.
So, who wins the beauty contest? Male or female?
I know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder! 馃檪 And I do hope the take another look of this species someday, since this couple was the only one I saw during the vacations. But hey, whith everything I was blessed to see... can't complain, only celebrate!
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