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All: Paul Brodie found a dead Common Murre floating off Boutlliers Pt., HRM, can be added to the current toll and coastal span. I thought Nancy Dowd's suggestion, that "scoping" birds might be initiating the dive reflex very interesting. But I don't think it covers the prolonged scoping one sees among some, but not all, divers. The reflex (also occurs in diving mammals, and even people to a limited extent), is set very quickly when the face hits the water. On the other hand, I don't see (do others?) diving ducks like Athyas and eiders do much if any scoping, yet mergansers do so. The former feed on relatively or completey fixed food (weeds & small inverts., mussels resp.), whereas loons (save the odd crab munchie), alcids and mergansers, are piscivores scoping for location-shifting, active prey. So the question remains, why don't cormorants scope? They can set the dive reflex readily enough, as Nancy indicates. Am I missing something? Cheers, Ian Ian McLaren
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