Cormorants (fam. Phalacrocoracidae)

The cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) is a fish-eating species presents especially during migration and winter. It begans to nest only a few years ago in the lagoon of our region with a few pairs of adults.
It is a bird with an entirely black plumage in adults; youngs andimmatures have a lighter black plumage, especially on the belly.
Specimens who transit or spend the winter in Friuli Venezia Giulia come from Baltic area, as demonstrated by ringed individuals captured.

Since the ’70 the species has shown a gradual increase of presence, passing from a few tens of individuals wintering in the region, to about 2,000 individuals surveyed in the dorms in recent years. With the increase of the wintering, the species, which initially was present mainly in coastal environments, has also colonized inland wetlands, both for foraging and, locally, even with the formation of dormitories.
From September to March it can be seen regularly in the inland waters, particularly along the rivers, flooded quarries, lakes and fish farms. Along the Stella river, in a small wood of poplars blacks, since 1997 there is a dormitory where initially, during the January census, were counted on average 300 individuals who, in recent years, decreased to less half.

Of note is the presence of the pygmy cormorant (Phalacrocorax pygmeus), a species not easy to view, much smaller than the cormorant, once rare and occasionally appeared in the region. During the last decade reports of this species are made progressively more frequent and regular even in the resurgences area.