Art by Barry Kent MacKay
An All-Creatures.org
Art and Photo Presentation

(Artwork - 031)
Double-crested Cormorant
(Phalacrocorax auritus)

Four birds are shown nesting on the ground. It’s based on observations I made on Gull Island, Presqu’ile Provincial Park, near Brighton, Ontario, a number of years ago, before the parks staff managed to chase away all the cormorants who were nesting on the ground. These birds were among many clustered on the highest point of a very low island (just a meter or so above the lake level) and were surrounded by Herring Gulls (with some Ring-billed Gulls). The species is widely distributed in North America.

The illustration is interesting because I used felt pen and gouache watercolours on something called Clayboard, which is sort of a hard cardboard with a thin surface of pure white clay. When you scratch off the surface of where the paint or felt pen was applied, it shows pure white. I also used some colour pencil. This is not a large painting, so it required a lot of detailed work.

Please read Why People Kill Cormorants.

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