A dam robber in action...

...and I did not allow him to get away with the loot.

Look how he sat grabbing that thin branch with his webbed feet.

It is a Cape Cormorant (Phalacrocorax capensis) and they are listed all along our coasts. But this one was not at the coast, as he raids the inland dams and ponds.

The Cape cormorant or Cape shag (Phalacrocorax capensis) is a bird endemic to the southwestern coasts of Africa.
It breeds from the coastal area of Namibia to southern Western Cape. In the nonbreeding season, it may be found as far north as the mouth of the Congo, also extending its home up the east coast of South Africa as far as Mozambique. In the 1970s, the breeding population was estimated as over 1 million in Namibia alone. However, the IUCN now classifies it as "Endangered" due to a very rapid decline in the population over the last three generations.

Even Wikipedia describes it as a coastal bird.

Source

So, at the beginning, I watched him coming in and he landed on the tree below this photo.

Oh yes, he also saw me, but he was interested in something else.

He sat peeping at the water in the pond below him.

Ah! Now just have a look at that goldfish for a lunch.

Carefully he landed a few feet from the water side, and then just as carefully it creeped up to sit on the brick coping of the dam.

Oh no, not on my watch, as I started slowly to move towards him.

A wise guy, as he elected rather to depart.

And that was it. Goodbye Mr Cormorant and rather go to fish in the sea.

I love to have fun and games in nature, but it is not easy right now, as I have our doctor's orders to stay at home and rest. He supplied me with another handful of pills, which makes me as drowsy as a drunk sea captain.
So, I walk around at tortoise speed, as I simply cannot stay inside. Just imagine laying in bed when all of the action such as in this post take place. No ways, really not for me, as I also cannot sleep during daylight.
On a sad note, I can tell you that the little dam will again not have any fish, as we heard that there were also kingfishers around.
Such is life.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.

Photos by Zac Smith-All-Rights-Reserved.

Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.

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