cormorants: the bird most likley to be caught while fishing, they love chasing bait fish dead or alive.
In my experience observing cormorants in the bays of Long Island and on Long Island Sound, they seem like solitary critters. In this story they sound communal. Can they exist in both manners?
They are also the most likely to poop on your head as you walk under a tree. Not kidding. I was saying to a friend, "They've never pooped on...." when one of them let go. They are a pest in my neighborhood that the community can't get rid of. They sound like the birds from the movie "The Birds" and make messes all over.