Cormorant Portraits

Anyone that has observed a Cormorant Fishing will know just what a skillful and efficient predator they are,  Last year early AM one morning I watched one bird dispatch six eels from Longrock pond in as many minutes, Not everybody's ideal breakfast perhaps but two resident Heron just stood and stared  in envy as the Cormorant filled its belly full of wrigglers before departing,   While on a fishing trip yesterday a passing Cormorant showed some interest and circled the pond and landed in the thin foliage at the top of a willow tree,  Those large webbed feet are not made for tree landings and the bird went through a wing flapping balancing act until it found a secure branch to steady itself.  It was wet presumably from fishing in some other local pond and was now just looking for somewhere to digest its breakfast and dry out its sophisticated looking plumage in the morning sunshine,  I took several images as the bird rotated periodically to expose different areas of its plumage towards the drying sunshine and I guess the last classic Cormorant wing spread shot is the one that shows off the bird's intricate wing formation at its best