Double-Crested Cormorant

Red tide, a harmful algal bloom, was confirmed around Sanibel Island in September 2017, and with it brought many ocean birds suffering from red tide toxicity. One of the ocean birds was a double-crested cormorant admitted to the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) weighing just 1.08 kilograms. The cormorant was emaciated, ataxic, neurologic, unable to walk or fly, unable to eat on its own, and had minor head tremors.

Most double-crested cormorants with red tide toxicity present very similarly, seemingly forgetting how to be a bird until they are too weak to try. EmerAid Intensive Care Piscivore was used as the nutritional base for this patient until the head tremors disappeared and the patient could stand on its own. Being able to offer a non-toxic food option was vital for this patient to recover. Once the neurologic symptoms resolved, the cormorant was offered finger mullet along with a liquid diet force fed until eating on its own.

As the patient started eating and gaining weight, it was moved outside to CROW’s Pelican Compound to monitor its flying and hunting abilities. After just a few days outside, the patient was eating and flying well enough to be considered for release. Just a few weeks after intake, the double-crested cormorant was successfully released with no remaining symptoms of red tide toxicity.