Well folks, I hesitated to post this, but it just seemed so unusual that I felt compelled to share it to see if anyone else has had a similar experience.
For the past few days we've had a DC Cormorant (an uncommon but regular visitor to the Pond) that has taken a liking to our next door camp neighbor's small float utilized primarily for fireworks. It does not use, however, our neighbor's larger, main float although it did haul out on ours, at least once, and left a gigantic white chalky calling card. Yuck. It seems not the least concerned about activity on either their float, or our main floats. Unusually tame.
Today, I watched a guest of a camp, five camps away, swim out into the pond about 100 yards and then start backstroking his way down the pond toward our end. Before he came abreast of our float, the DC Cormorant took off from its favored small float and landed almost on top of the swimmer. It stayed with the swimmer all the way to our end of the pond and all the way back to where the swimmer started, many times within 10 feet of the swimmer, swimming out as far as 40-50 feet, but mostly within 15-25 feet.
Every time the backstroking swimmer's hands hit the water it sent up a small splash, as did his kicking feet. It looked like bait fish jumping out of water. We have zillions of 3-4 inch alewife in the pond getting ready to head downstream to the Penobscot and out into the Great North Atlantic for a 3-5 year stay, before returning. I figured it could be that the Cormorant thought the swimmer was a predator ie: seal; small whale pursuing fish and the splashes were the baitfish trying to escape. This bird stayed very close to the swimmer, diving often in between times on the surface.
Struggled for an answer, I also figured that, perhaps, the DCCO could be the Great Great Grandfather of the swimmer, re-incarnated as a DCCO, flying out to protect and guide its Great, Great Grandson, dangerously backstroking around the pond without an attendant. My wife laughed and said, PLEASE don't post that. Of course I just did, because, you just never really know.
Rob Speirs
PS- Yes, I know...to much spare time.
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