Publication Abstract

Avian remains in the stomach of the Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo L.)

A. Cook and J. Cooper

Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo numbers in the UK have increased over the past 25 years, and the birds have also extended their range inland, making increasing use of freshwater habitats. The Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) makes provision for the culling of limited numbers of Great Cormorants under licence, as an aid to scaring, to help prevent serious damage to fisheries, and where other management options are impractical. A condition of such licences has been that carcasses should be retained for post mortem examination, to enable cormorant diet at various fishery types to be assessed.

Since 1993, over 1,300 Great Cormorants have been forwarded to the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) for examination. Prey has been found to consist almost exclusively of fish, encom­passing most common freshwater species (Russell et al. 1996; CEFAS, unpublished data), and confirming the species' opportunistic feeding behaviour. One adult male, however, shot in March 2002 on a large reservoir in southwest England, contained avian remains, together with a relatively intact Perch Perca fluviatilis.

Reference:

A. Cook and J. Cooper. 2004. Avian remains in the stomach of the Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo L.). British Birds, 97(9): 472-473