Pied Shags on Lake Waikare

Really hot again today so I took the dogs for a short walk near our local lake. I didn't let them go in though because it's not looking too nice at the moment. Sadly the lake has been allowed to get silted up and is very shallow and unhealthy. Algae blooms happen quite frequently which can be toxic and also turn the lake a range of colours - today it was orange. These New Zealand Pied Shags didn't seem to mind and I know the lake has a lot of koi in it so there must be plenty of food around for them. Wouldn't fancy eating the fish out of here myself though!

[Ellen Bogenschutz]

I'm glad you explained the color of the lake, as it does look unusual....Good capture of the all the birds, quite a variety in this photo.

[Esther Rosenberg]

Great shot of the tree trunk and the cormorants. I hope they can still fish well through that orange algae.

[Walks @ 7]

Great layers and I hope that the lake can 'heal' itself.

[Taffy]

They look like buddies hanging out together. Good storytelling.

[Joan Robillard]

That is a sad looking lake

[Susan Wakely]

Interesting about the algae and those lovely cormorants look ok in spite of it.

[Pat Knowles]

That’s a shame & the heat won’t help the quality. Hope things improve soon.

[Rick]

Nice capture.

[haskar]

Great shot and lovely layers.

[Nick]

@theredcamera @dutchothotmailcom @joysabin @taffy @joansmor @wakelys @happypat @rickster549 @haskar Thanks very much for your comments. Sadly it would take a LOT of money to clean this lake up as it's really large.