For years, when I saw a flight of cormorants zoom by, or a solitary cormorant share an in shore hole with a surf fisherman, I thought of Ping. The book was a long lost childhood memory, but I thought it had something to do with cormorants trained to fish in China. After many years, I took the time to look at the book online. It is actually called, "A Story About Ping": http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/ping.pdf
Ping wasn't a cormorant as I remembered, but instead a wayward duck. Ping does get to see the trained fishing cormorants of the Yangtze River, escapes being served as dinner, and makes it back to his own family with only a minor spanking on his back.
From what little I know, cormorants that are trained to fish still exist in China and some parts of the world, but mostly as tourist attractions, reminders of past cultures and traditions. I think about our local surf fishermen sharing their spots with these birds and that maybe they have their own relationship with the birds that help them find the best spots for fish.
Brandts Cormorants, the most common type in the Monterey Bay
Cormorants get Pepper excited. There is something about their long necks and hurried wing flapping that must remind him of something from his life before he came to live with us. I'll point them out as they speed along the surface of the water and Pepper will give them a good chase. Most of the time they seem to be heading to the Cement Ship, the Palo Alto, at Seacliff State Beach. A pier is connected to the ship, but the ship itself is now gated because of exposed rebar, holes, and generally dangerous stuff. It has turned into a great habitat for birds and sea lions, including a large number of cormorants.
Some links:
General cormorant info: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brandts_Cormorant/lifehistory
Fishing cormorants in China: http://www.yangshuo-travel-guide.com/cormorant-fishing.html
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