Though I lament the new, unrequested ‘AI summary’ that Google now foists upon researchers in response to almost any search request, annoyingly, it proved quite helpful and accurate when checked against several bonafide publications … so please forgive my first ever [and lazy] use of a dot-point AI synopsis.

When asked, “… what is the difference between a shag and a cormorant”, Google AI offered this as a general comparison:

Size: Cormorants are generally larger than shags, with some reaching 1 metre in length.
Plumage: Cormorants are brown-black, while shags are black but with a green and purple gloss.
Head: Cormorants have a larger, triangular head with a flat forehead, while shags have smaller heads with a peaked forehead.
Bill: Cormorants have a thicker beak, while shags have a slimmer bill.
Eyes: Cormorants have striking green eyes surrounded by bare skin, while shags have emerald eyes surrounded by feathers.
Crest: Shags have a tufted crest on their foreheads during breeding season, while cormorants do not.
Gular patch: Cormorants have a white throat patch, while shags do not.
Neck: In flight, shags have shorter, thinner, and straighter necks.
Wings: In flight, shags have shorter, more rounded wings.

So, while the purists can quibble over the differences—shag or cormorant—the common name used often depends on geographical location. While I was brought up to favour a ‘shag’… did I really write that? … throughout this article, I will use both names, often interchangeably. But whatever you choose to call them, there seems to be a lot about this year.

This is underlined in a highly informative monthly news sheet, ‘Nature’s Rubik’ for Sanctuary Lakes, Point Cook [Tom Parkinson … https://tinyurl.com/3hd4rztm ]. I have shamelessly copied his observations [précised] as follows:

“… this spring has seen an unusual occurrence at Sanctuary Lakes: the sighting of all five varieties of Australian Cormorants around the main lake”.

His brochure then continues:

“… although there are over forty species of cormorant worldwide, only five are endemic to Australasia: the Great, the Pied, the Little Pied, the Black, and the Darter.

Cormorants are one of the few species that can fly strongly over long distances, swim and dive to remarkable depths [see below] and walk [albeit a little comically]. They are coastal rather than oceanic birds and have colonised Australia’s estuaries and inland waterways.

Cormorants live on fish, crustaceans, molluscs and sandworms. They dive from a swimming start on the surface, have excellent underwater vision—a special nictitating membrane protects their eyes—and can dive to depths of 30 metres with the help of their large, webbed feet.

After fishing, they often adopt their classic pose of holding their wings out in the sun to dry. Many theories have been suggested for this ‘spread-wing’ posture: for thermoregulation, to aid digestion, or to restore balance, but an in-depth study concluded that it is primarily to dry their plumage.”

By using a good pair of binoculars, a pleasant hour or two could be spent at the beach this summer spotting and identifying your favourite shag [or cormorant] … it’s hard not to be risqué on this topic … with a simple identification guide to our five common species as follows.

The Great Cormorant … stands about a metre tall, has a wingspan of one and a half metres, and is jet black with a golden bill and cheeks.

The Pied Cormorant … is relatively people-friendly, is the next largest, stands 70 cm high, is black and white with a long, grey, hooked bill and black legs and feet, and has a distinctive orange eye patch and bare skin at the throat.

The Little Black Cormorant is smaller [60 cm], slim, totally black [with a green/purple sheen to its back], and has a slender, grey, hooked bill.

The Little Pied Cormorant is the smallest Australian species and is one of the most common waterbirds in Southeastern Australia. Standing 50 cm, it can often be seen perched, wings spread wide, on piers, sea walls or rocky beaches. Entirely black above, it is white below with the white of its underside extending to the eye in adult birds. It is a solitary bird and prefers to fish, feed, and fly alone.

The Darter Cormorant is roughly equal in size to its cousin, the Great Cormorant, with black and dark brown plumage and a short erectile crest at the nape of its neck. Built to fish, it quietly stalks and ambushes its prey, dives fast, and impales its target fish with its sharp, pointed bill.

My initial observation that: ‘… there are a lot more shags around this year’, turns out to likely be [1] true and [2] due to the weather, though note that I have studiously avoided any mention of the poison word—climate—to save the worry-worts, cataclysm-catastrophists, and Bowen-believers from over-heating and melting down.

A Tasmanian Government fact sheet: https://tinyurl.com/4c6y9nva offers an [author-edited] explanation for the recently observed increase in cormorant numbers, stating:

“… that between 2020 and 2023 Australia has experienced three consecutive annual La Niña events—years that bring above average rainfall to Southeastern Australia.”

Authors note: the Australian wet La Niña hemicycle—the other half being the dry El Niño—form together an age-old, global, and eon-imbedded natural weather phenomenon that science now calls the ENSO [El Niño–Southern Oscillation] … a real-life confirmation for Dorothea Mackellar’s nationally treasured lines ‘… a land of droughts and flooding rains’.

When the ENSO phenomenon is in La Niña phase, it:

“… produces ideal spawning conditions for trout and native fish and an abundance of food for our cormorants which use these years to breed and build up their population numbers.”

When a La Niña cormorant breeding and feeding comfort zone on the eastern seaboard marries with a rapidly heating, parching, and drying continental centre—particularly of the shallow evaporative lakes systems like Lake Eyre, the Coongie, and the Menindee complex—the shags migrate our way, and who can blame them!

John Agar

Feature Writer

A word from the chairman

Hello

It is with some sadness that we say goodbye to our postmaster Ankur Bhambri.

In his seven years running the Lorne Post Office, Ankur has seen thousands of parcels come and go, and particularly during Covid (and since?) became arguably the biggest wine “distributor” in Lorne. The trick has always been to pick the time to collect your wine delivery without being sprung by one or more locals. The theory was to get there at 9am when no-one was around, but everyone had that theory, so it didn’t work!

Ankur has commuted daily from Geelong and his friendly, helpful and occasionally cheeky disposition has made him one of the characters of our town. I spoke to Ankur briefly about his time in Lorne and started by asking him why he came to Lorne. He said that he had holidayed here in his younger years and that he loved the town, so that when the opportunity to acquire the post office came up he jumped at it.

Given that you can now buy pretty much anything online, I asked Ankur what was the most unusual parcel he had handled. He said he had once been asked to send 2 bicycles unpacked, but the most notable was a recent invasion of Thermomixes (whatever they are) and pizza ovens!

When I asked Ankur who was the biggest wine consumer in town, he was, as ever, diplomatic and declined to answer, but did say that the biggest wine delivery he had handled for one customer was 35 wine cartons. Anyone want to own up?

Ankur’s last day in Lorne is December 20, and as we say farewell to “the keeper of our secrets” we wish you well for the future and thank you for your service to our town. We also look forward to educating Ankur’s successor, Ricky Gupta, in the vagaries of Lorne and its online shopping habits.

*****

Last week the Committee for Lorne held the second of its special interest meetings regarding housing affordability in Lorne. We were fortunate to have in attendance our three new Otway Range ward councillors together with two dedicated council officers. We reviewed the current situation and some of the potential solutions that have been considered to date. The Surf Coast Shire has committed to invest a substantial sum of money and council human resources to work with us to develop solutions to our accommodation issues. It was agreed that we will meet again early in the new year to scope how the committed council resources can most effectively be used.

*****

The Committee for Lorne/Lorne Business and Tourism Association New Year’s Eve fireworks fundraising appeal is well underway and being well-supported with donations through GoFundMe totalling $4,165 at the time of writing. Together with the support of corporate donations we are confident of reaching our target of $20,000, but we need your help. If you are able to, and would like to help these spectacular displays happen, you can contribute at https://tinyurl.com/lorne-nye-fireworks

Cheers