mheim_cormorants-4458
In 2021, an unprecedented heat dome hit the Pacific Northwest, causing temperatures to reach record highs in Astoria, Oregon. Timelapse cameras placed within a Double-Crested Cormorant colony on the Astoria-Megler Bridge captured an intimate look at the stress this heat dome afflicted upond a nesting seabird colony. This photo is from the day of peak heat during the event. Temperatures soard to over 100 Degrees, cormorants spent the dasy mouths agape, panting, in other locations heat events have caused upwards of 80 percent mortality within a cormorant colony. Despite the great risk, the parents at this nest remained fiercely protective, diligently remaining on the nest sheltering their young and sometimes holding their wings open for minutes at a time to create extra shade for their chicks. All three chicks in this nest survived.