ABOUT GREAT CORMORANTS Phalacrocorax carbo IN ESTONIA

Vilju Lilleleht

In Estonia summer encounters with Great Cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo began to get frequent from the 1960s onwards, at first mostly along the Gulf of Finland. It was on a small island there that the first few cases of nesting were recorded in 1983 and probably also in 1987. However, the first permanent breeding colony of Great Cormorants came into being in the Väinameri Sea in 1984 (Fig. 1). By 1994 it had grown to 950 pairs. In the Livonian Bay (the Gulf of Riga) the first colonies of 20-80 pairs were discovered in 1992 and 1993. In 1994 the first small colonies (2-10 pairs) also appeared in the vicinity of Hiiumaa Island (Fig. 1) and the first inland colony of eight pairs was found on Lake Võrtsjärv. All colonies detected so far have been on small islets, mostly on the ground. All in all, about 1,400 pairs of Great Cormorants nested in Estonia in 1994 and their numbers and distribution area have been growing. The numbers of Great Cormorants hibernating on our ice-free sea have also been increasing, attaining 200 birds in 1992/93. The Great Cormorants breeding in Estonia probably belong to the continental race P. c. sinensis.

Vilju Lilleleht, Institute of Zoology and Botany, Riia 181, 2400 Tartu, Estonia

summary reprinted from: Lilleleht V. Veel kormoranidest. Eesti Loodus 1995 No 2: 44-46.