In recent years, Double-Crested Cormorants have been increasingly observed on Upper Saranac Lake. Although cormorants are native to New York, they have not traditionally been common on Upper Saranac Lake. They are more familiar sights along New York’s marine coast, the St. Lawrence River, and Lake Champlain.
What do they look like? Double-Crested Cormorants are large, dark-colored waterbirds, approximately 30 inches long with a wingspan of about 45 inches. They are often seen swimming low in the water, diving for fish, or perched with their wings spread to dry. Cormorants commonly travel and feed in groups, making larger concentrations particularly noticeable.
Cormorants are highly efficient fish predators, and large concentrations can consume substantial numbers of fish. This has raised concerns in other New York waters about impacts on fish populations, including recreational fisheries and stocked fish. Large colonies can also affect water quality and shoreline habitat through the accumulation of guano.
In areas where large colonies have become established, cormorants have competed with and displaced other colonial nesting birds, including herons. Cormorants often return to the same nesting sites, and accumulated guano can kill trees and vegetation, permanently altering nesting habitat.
Cormorant populations have rebounded dramatically since the 1980s following the impacts of DDT. New York’s breeding population increased from approximately 2,100 pairs in 1985 to 10,500 pairs in 2003 and continued to grow through the 2000s.
Because cormorants have not traditionally been common on Upper Saranac Lake, documenting their numbers, behavior, feeding activity, and potential nesting locations is particularly important. Establishing a record now will help us understand whether their presence is increasing and identify potential impacts before significant colonies become established.
Your observations can help. New York Sea Grant has developed a statewide reporting tool where residents, lake users, and visitors can report cormorant observations, including numbers, nesting and feeding activity, potential impacts, and photos.
Click Here to Report a Cormorant Observation
The tool allows you to pinpoint your observation on a map and view reports from across New York.
See a cormorant? Take a photo, note what you observe, and report it. Your observations can help researchers and resource managers track this emerging presence and better understand its potential impacts on the Upper Saranac Lake ecosystem.
