South of Juodkrantė lies a colony of great cormorants. Around 3,000 pairs of birds nest there annually, making it one of the largest and oldest known colonies of these birds in Western Lithuania. Cormorants began settling here alongside grey herons in 1989. Despite the rapid increase in the cormorant population, around 200 pairs of herons still nest nearby each year. Over the 35 years that cormorants have inhabited this colony, they have altered just over 30 hectares of forest. This is negligible compared to the forest area cleared daily in Lithuania through clear-cutting — nearly 55 hectares. Due to the acidic nature of their droppings, cormorants alter their environment, but over time, shrubs and deciduous trees replace the former pine forest. The shrubs bear berries that feed migrating birds — making the cormorant colony lively not only in summer during nesting season but also throughout the year. Despite the mixed opinions people have about these birds, they return to the Juodkrantė colony again and again at the end of February.