Sunday 27 Jan 13 at between 16:00-16:30 off Gorleston - on Sea, Norfolk we saw about 8 groups each of 50-100 cormorants fly in off the North Sea. They were flying low over the sea from the north, then flew up into rough Vs 0.25 miles south of Gorleston flying inland - possibly to Breydon Water. We have seen small groups before, but never this many. Were they just coming in to roost after a day fishing at sea?
What was the sea like at the time? Rough weather may drive them to more sheltered water where you will often see many gathering to sit out the worst of it.
Cormorants are not just a coastal species, we have two races of cormorant in the UK, one is predominantly coastal, the other is quite happy inland as well as on the coast and even nests in trees.
Warden Intern at Otmoor.
I can't remember the sea state, but we normally see about 6 skeins of about 10 as it is getting dusk, this was twice the normal amount. I am only at that spot once a fortnight so do not know how the weather affects the birds. We were there this Sunday at the same time when the sea was extremely rough and there was a strongly SE wind and only saw 1 skein about 10 coming inland -perhaps they kept somewhere sheltered.
Perhaps Brent Geese, or another Goose SP coming in?
Definitely cormorants. I saw hundreds flying in v formations from sea to land, at Gorleston. Windy today. 16/2/24
They were flying to roost. Possibly around 2000 fly in every evening to two main roosts, the main one being in the Bure valley and another in the Waveney Valley. The shallow sea around Scoby Sands (where large numbers loaf during the day) is an ideal feeding ares for them.