Kip’s Comments - May 6 and 7, 2026 — LadagePhotography.com

Terry Reekers Float and Fly

Terry Reekers was a friend to many - to public safety officials, to citizens, to motorcycle riders, to his church family, and especially to those of us in the Emergency Management field. Sadly, he was taken from us too soon.

For years before his death I made trips to check his double-crested cormorant rookery. The black, perching birds in the lake were not something Terry worried about. In fact, until I asked him about them I am pretty sure he had no clue they existed very near his home town. For me the rookery was a location of interest - not only for the cormorants but also for their impact on the habitat where they raise their young. Through this rookery I am watching natural succession as it happens.

Double-crested Cormorants - Image 1095835

In older versions of Google Earth the small island in the lake that hosted many nests appeared to be snow-covered, even though the trees along the shore had their full canopies of leaves. The white effect came from the whitewash from so many cormorants. Over time the effects of defecating cormorants decimated any living vegetation resulting in the island quickly disappearing. Some cormorants were nesting on the island when I checked it, but far fewer than in the past.

Double-crested Cormorants - Image 1095823

Without the island to support nesting, the majority of the cormorants have moved to one area of trees along the shore. (Double-crested cormorants nest close together.) Seeing their gathering made me interested to know how the landscape under so many nests appeared. As expected, that area is now experiencing vegetation die-off. For comparison I shot photos of under the nests and not under the nests. The cormorant whitewash effect was dramatic.

Double-crested Cormorants - Image 1095661 — Double-crested Cormorant Habitat - Image 1095661

Double-crested Cormorants - Image 1095679 — Double-crested Cormorant Habitat - Image 1095679

Terry has been gone too long - six years! So many of us miss him and remember him fondly. I remember him from emergency management and I have special memories of Terry that keep me going back year after year to the area Terry called home. I see Terry’s birds (that he didn’t know about) and think of Terry and his family. Terry was one of the good guys. I miss him.

For those wondering… these cormorants sound like hogs grunting around a feeder. The smell isn’t much better.

Following are photos from my Terry Reekers Float and Fly