a family gathering

The double crested cormorants are also members of the family pelicanformes
just like the brown pelican sitting with them. Brown pelicans are pretty common in Oakland's Lake Merritt in the summer. We also saw about 7 white pelicans hanging out. This is a little more unusual, bnot unheard of. They tend to spend summers around mountian lakes and migrate to coastal areas in the autumn. These have been around a while, maybe they are finding food and taking up permanent residence. Why mighrate if you don't have to?
Anyhow, the Lake includes lots of my namesake birds this summer.