I had Merganzers, which are the pacific north-west's inland version of the Cormorant. They are VERY smart, AGGRESSIVE and tough as nails. Shooting them in the face at point-blank range was the only way, until I laid down on a piece of plywood and had my wife sketch my body. I cut out a life-size "scarecrow" and dressed it up with real clothes, even making a wire loop to hold a cap pulled over his face. I even put a piece of black plastic pipe in "his" hands, making like a gun. I secured him with a t-post in the ground. It works SO well that even my friends ask "who's up on the pond bank?" And no Merganzers at all now.
