Some recently hatched double-crested cormorants.

Here is a closer look at the cormorant chicks. Note the chick facing the camera still has an egg tooth.

A nearby nest with older cormorants. They are usually not this docile; waving their sharp bills at anyone who dares near the nest.

Since they were being so mellow, I decided to continue my iPod sizing theme. Non Birding Bill is not amused.

These cormorants were incredibly fiesty. A small pod of pelicans wandered near and before I could get my camera ready, they had frightened the pod well away from the nest.

These cormorants were old enough for banding. These birds are so fierce and aim for your eye so it takes a strong person with a steady hand (or sometimes two) to band them. I still have a scar from last year and declined banding these birds myself this year.

This recently banded cormorant looks like he doesn't quite know what to do with its feet.

But it does know what to do with its mouth!! Almost looks like its giving a belch of a lifetime.

This was one of many gull and tern nests surrounding the cormorant nest. This is a ring-billed gull nest, Forster's terns nest nearby and their eggs looked similar but are smaller and there is even less of a nest than this.

Here is a digi scoped photo of some of the Forster's terns.

Here are Forster's terns and a ring-billed gull.

Rookeries are not for those with weak stomachs, there are decaying bodies everywhere. Colony life is harsh. Here is the head of a cormorant chick. The shore was full of dead pelicans that were about the size of ten pound turkeys. It was gross.

All the birds vomit when frightened. These are barfed-up crawfish. Pelican and cormorant acids are so strong, they turn the shells red. Some of the pelicans barfed up fish as long as my forearm. It looked like mostly carp (not one bird barfed up walleye).

Older birds routinely pick on younger birds, often killing them.

This pelican chick never joined up with a pod and therefore was suseptible to predations. This birds has been attacked by adult ring-billed gulls, all the down on its front has been picked off.

A close up view reveals several scratches and pock marks from ring-billed gull picking. Also, the pelican's eye has been picked out. When the chick is finally dead, the gulls will have a feast.

Gulls don't just limit abuse to pelicans. Some of their own young are also pecked at. This ring-billed gull was found lathargic on the shore missing all the feathers on the top and back of his head. A bird MUST be tough to survive the rookery. If it can survive that, it can survive as an adult in the wild.

I didn't want to end on a bummer note, so I'm ending with a photo of some more adorable great egret chicks.