By Peggy Butler

Special to the Journal

Phalacrocoracidae. Try to pronounce it. Or stick to its usual tag, Cormorant.  You see them, and you especially smell them at the Anacortes ferry terminal. Right now and during the next month they will present dramatic, National Geographic- worthy displays of nature as they feed the newly hatched young.  The long necks of the Cormorant, which culminate in a correspondingly long hooked beak, form a storage area for food, usually small fish the parent bird forages from the sea. But the parent birds, both father and mother, expect the young to work for their dinner.

Some species of birds dangle worms or other food into the mouths of the young, or regurgitate partially digested food directly into tiny gaping mouths. Some birds of prey drop tasty carcasses into the nest to be devoured in small bite size chunks. Not so, the Cormorant.  Like the parent birds, young Cormorants also have long snake-like necks ending in long unwieldy beaks. This creates an interesting spectacle as they feed.

The delicate task of feeding begins as the young beg unceasingly by opening and closing their beaks like a heartbeat, right in the adult’s face. Eventually the parent bird stands, and stretches out his or her neck with beak towards the sky. The nestling then touches the parent’s beak with his own—like knocking on the door. They touch beaks over and over, the young looking for a way into the slender neck where food awaits.  Many tat-tat-tats fail to open the door. After numerous misses, finally the hungry nestling finds a way to get his own beak in position so the adult opens her beak allowing the young to dive headlong inside.

An amazing feeding spectacle begins. The young bird actually puts his entire head into the parent’s long neck where food is stored. The young bird sucks out the partially digested fish inside. This is a “lengthy” process (sorry), and fascinating to watch. It is available for free from the decks of Washington State Ferries as they dock at Anacortes Ferry Terminal. No need to look on YouTube or rent a nature video. Just enjoy a fresh, open air display and marvel at how imaginative nature can be.