Great cormorant chicks hatch in Denmark for first time

A rare bird sighting has ornithologists buzzing after a pair of great cormorants successfully raised two chicks in Denmark for the first time. The chicks, observed in mid-May, have now fledged and are seen in the waters around the Hirsholmene islands, a small archipelago in the northern Kattegat.

The great cormorant, a close relative of the common cormorant, primarily nests on rocky coasts in Norway, France, and the British Isles, which host Europe's largest populations. Its appearance and nesting in Denmark are considered an "ornithological sensation" by the Danish Ornithological Society (DOF Birdlife).

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I spotted the great cormorant sitting on a nest among the common cormorants.

Frede Jakobsen, who has been observing the nesting pair all summer, discovered the great cormorant among common cormorants while helping the Nature Agency with nest management in April. "I spotted the great cormorant sitting on a nest among the common cormorants," he stated in a press release.

The great cormorant is distinguished from its common cousin by its smaller, more slender build, a thinner beak, and darker plumage with yellow markings around the beak. Breeding birds also sport a distinctive tuft of feathers on their heads, giving the bird its Danish name. Biologists from the Nature Agency Vendsyssel are closely monitoring the situation, anticipating further nesting attempts in the coming seasons, as the Hirsholmene islands are considered a prime location for cliff-nesting birds in Jutland. Europe's population of great cormorants is significantly smaller than that of common cormorants, with fewer than 80,000 breeding pairs across Northern Europe's rocky coastlines.

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We will keep a particularly vigilant eye on the great cormorant in the coming breeding seasons.