The Cormorants say the Alewives are Here

I was just outside in the yard and saw 10 double crested cormorants flying in formation over the house going up the Kennebec River. Which means the alewives have arrived in the Kennebec River. This is about a week earlier than usual.

Cormorants only eat fish and they only appear on the Kennebec in April when the alewives have come in from the ocean to spawn upriver. I've watched the synchronicity of cormorant arrival vs. alewife arrival for 10 years now at the Kennebec's head of tide in Augusta and the correlation is uncanny. If the cormorants are here the alewives must also be here.

It's funny how you can tell a certain type of fish has entered a giant river just by sitting in the side yard and see a few birds fly over.