There’s a theatricality to the Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) that no other bird quite matches. Maybe it’s the silhouette — all angular elbows and hunched shoulders. Maybe it’s the way they perch high on bare branches like watchful gargoyles. Or perhaps it’s that ancient eye, always scanning.
This one I met in Slottsparken, Malmö — a familiar path for me, but this evening, something shifted. The sun was beginning to lower, and the sky had turned that rich Scandinavian blue that only happens in the last light. And there he was, a cormorant, perched like a prophet on a single, naked branch.
No flapping. No fishing. Just presence.
Why I love cormorants
What I love about cormorants is their unapologetic practicality. Their feathers aren’t fully waterproof, unlike most waterbirds. So after diving for fish, they must climb up somewhere dry, spread those dark wings wide, and simply wait. There’s something ritualistic about it — almost religious. And yet, this one didn’t spread his wings. He stood still, almost posing for a statue, a single feather clinging to the tip of his beak like punctuation.
The Great Cormorant is a widely spread species, found from rocky coastlines to inner city parks like this one. In Malmö, they’ve adapted well to the canals and lakes — you’ll see them drying off near Ribersborg, or high above the moats of Slottsparken and Kungsparken.
They’re not always loved. Fishermen complain. Gardeners grumble. But to me, they’re a symbol of resilience — and aesthetic defiance. While other birds flutter and preen, the cormorant simply waits. He doesn’t need your affection.
The photographers view
Photographing this one was a joy. The angle was tricky — he was high up, and I wanted that clean blue backdrop. I stepped back, found a low angle, and framed upward with the Sony A7R V and the 200–600mm lens fully extended. The sun was just grazing his chest, lighting up the yellow gular skin under his beak — a small splash of warmth against the coolness of the scene.
📷 Sony A7R V + 200–600mm
⚙️ 1/1000 sec | f/6.3 | ISO 320
📍 Slottsparken, Malmö
There’s a kind of ancient stillness in these birds that speaks to something deeper. You don’t watch a cormorant. You witness it. And if you’re lucky, you get a single frame of it gazing into the wind, silhouetted against a flawless sky.
So here’s my question to you — where do you see cormorants? Do they evoke memories for you — coastlines, childhood lakes, autumn fog?
Drop a comment or share a photo of your own cormorant encounters. Let’s celebrate these gothic beauties — they deserve more love.
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