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Both rescue centers are also treating other seabirds ill from domoic acid, including the western grebes, brandt’s cormorants and red-throated loons, but brown pelicans have most frequently been sick.

Double-crested cormorants are colonial nesters, meaning they build nests close together, usually in large numbers, and in elevated areas near water as their diet consists of various fish, according to the National Park Service.

Now, the pond was murky, and a cormorant stood hunting at the water’s edge.

In 2018, there were also claims that Australians tried to rig the contest in favour of the shag - a species of cormorant.

“When there was a vibrant fish population in the sea, you would see a lot of pelicans and cormorants and other fish-eating birds,” Shore said.