The Double-crested Cormorant is a year around resident at Lake Merritt in Downtown Oakland, CA.  These all black birds with a broad orange throat patch are 30+ inches in length.

These Cormorants claim much the same habitat as the American White Pelican.  Year around they are found on the entire U.S. western coast, Gulf of Mexico, Florida as well as most of the U.S. Atlantic coast.  During Summer they can be found in the North Central part of the U.S. from Idaho to the Great Lakes and well into the central regions of Canada.

Because the Double-crested feeds by diving into and swimming under the water, mostly for fish, they dry themselves off by holding their wings out and preening their feathers when not in the water as seen in this picture.