How to kill a cormorant

Neotropic Cormorant and fishing line

There’s no nice way to deal with this topic, so I’ll just be blunt as I often am. This Neotropic Cormorant is dead because someone didn’t dispose of their used fishing line properly or responsibly. Shame on whoever this was.

I was about to leave the Water Ranch in Gilbert, AZ, on Monday morning when another couple insisted I come see the “cormorant caught in the tree.” When I got to the spot (the largest tree along the trails and a favorite roost for cormorants and night-herons) I saw this nasty sight. The bird was still moving, but only for a few moments. The tree is on a small island, separated from the trail by a wide channel of reclaimed waste water and thick mesquite brambles. The cormorant was 25-30 feet above and out on the thinnest bare branches. Forty years ago I might have been able to get up to the bird, but all I could do was take photos to document this senseless and unnecessary death.

I sent the image to the ranger for the Water Ranch, who replied:

Thank you.  We did know about the cormorant and we actually took a fisherman back to show what happens when birds and fishing line tangle.  He is a regular and will communicate how to deal with birds that may get hooked or tangled so they don’t end up like the bird you saw.

I wish I could have done more.