I was in the Sea of Cortez, near Los Islotes, a fistful of rocks part of the Espiritu Santo archipelago, to document the unbelievable recovery of this marine protected area. Los Islotes is known as the southernmost breeding site of the California sea lion, in the Northern Hemisphere, but it is a wonderful wild place of many other reasons. During my stay I was fascinated by the skill and elegance of Brandt's cormorants, feeding on an almost endless school of small pilchards.
Most of the hunting activities took place at sunset, with challenging low natural light conditions. Making appropriate use of this particular situation, I was able to give a tridimensional perspective to this particular image.
Brandt's cormorant feeds on small fish from the surface to sea floor, by pursuit diving using its feet for propulsion ; they have been observed foraging at depths of over 36.5 m. It is a marine bird of extraordinary skills.
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