Brown Pelican

(Pelecanus occidentalis)

My husband and I went to Sanibel Island, Florida and were mesmerized by the brown pelicans. Early in the morning, we saw more pelicans than we could count fishing just off the shore. They flew in groups and landed in groups as they watched as far as 65 feet up for fish. Have you seen how they fish? They dive head first, wings back and go into the water like a knife. Sometimes there are several of them aiming for the same area of fish. It's a sight to behold. 

Pelicans are fabulous fishermen. When they go down into the water, their large beak opens up and balloons out. It makes for a large opening so when, the pelican closes its beak and flies back up out of the water, it has many fish inside. Yes, there is also water but the pelican knows how to drain his beak without losing any fish.

When we first saw the pelican dive down like a scissors, it was fascinating. We stood there watching for a long time and, yes, I took a lot of photos.

We had been to Sanibel Island many times but had never seen the numbers of brown pelicans as we have this year. They truly brought wonder into our days. Each day we would watch them as we shelled. Some of them kept their eye on me.

Brown pelicans are approximately 7.6 pounds and their wingspan is up to 7 feet. They live on salt water and they eat mostly fish. Quite the fishermen they are. You'll see boats watch the pelicans as they fish to tell them where the fish are. I call this photo: Fishermen.

Brown pelicans like to be with others and could be in large groups for more than a year. They live a long life as one pelican who was tagged, showed it was 31 years old.

So, who eats pelicans? Coyotes enjoy pelicans. People enjoy capturing them for their meat and their feathers. Sad? Yes.

How long have pelicans been on earth? A fossil was found that showed it was here 40 million years. Now that's a long time!

So, what do you think of when you see a pelican? I see a bird that soars through the air and aims like a knife for its dinner. I see the pouch open to go into the water and then come back up draining the water and eating the fish. I see the bird with the largest beak I've ever seen. Yes, I've seen it all.

Luckily DDT was banned in the 1970s and the birds were able to make a comeback. DDT had killed quite a number of them. At the time, they were endangered and a step was made to help them come back. So far, so good. They are no longer extinct. They are growing in numbers.

Each of the above prints are available for purchase.


Thank you for visiting! Hope you have a chance to see a pelican.

Judy



References:

"Amazing Animals of the World" (volume 7). Scholastic Library Publishing.

Sibley, D.A. (2009). The Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_Pelican/lifehistory

Baughman, M. (Ed.). (2003). National Geographic Reference Atlas to the Birds of North America.

Kaufman, K. (1996). Lives of North American Birds