Breeding Great Cormorant In Granvinsfjord??
The cruise ship season is nearly over with the last ship of the year in a few days time. Voss seems to have been very quiet when I have been away, there are a couple of other birders who bird around Voss, and they have seen little of interest, so I don’t think I have missed much. One of the reasons for this could have been water levels at all lakes and marshes. It seems to have been constantly high, even today at one of the local marshes it was way above normal for this time of the year. Thankfully my guiding has taken me to some good localities so I have seen many interesting species during July. However, one of the more important observations was of a possible breeding Great Cormorant here locally. This species has never been found breeding in the county before so when I found this possible breeding site, I must admit there was a buzz of excitement. Problem was getting some documentation. The site was on the far side of Granvinfjord. From a boat it would be impossible to see the crack in the cliffs where I believed the Cormorant to be on the nest. It would be possible to climb down for an experienced mountain climber, something of which I am not. When I found the site there were 4 Cormorants resting, three flew away, leaving one, which you can just make out standing below. If you look at the small picture (below) which I have blown up, you can just see a bird sitting in the crevice. On my visit yesterday the crack looked empty. I couldn’t see any bird sitting or stood by the nest opening. If the species has breed, it could have been an infertile egg, hence no birds to be seen. Hopefully I will get some time next year to follow the site. In the meantime I will be spending a few days here at Voss before the next cruise ship, so I can only hope that water levels will drop and the rains stop.
