Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Pelicans..White & Brown

 I am linking up my  post with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

Other then seeing my yardbirds I have not been anywhere for birding, sad but true. So, I am pulling some photos from my archives to do a post on the Pelicans.  They are one of my favorite birds to see, the Brown Pelican is more common for me to see here on the Maryland beaches. During my travels to Wyoming, I have seen the White Pelicans in both the Grand Tetons and in Yellowstone National Parks.


The White Pelicans nest in colonies on lakes, on marshes and in the winter can be found in sheltered saltwater bodies.


The White Pelican rivals the Trumpeter Swan as the largest bird native to North America.




The plumage is most white except for the black that only show up while they are in flight.  The White Pelican forages for food by scooping fish and other prey while swimming.


This White Pelican was seen in Tetons National Park. But, the White Pelicans can and have been seen in Maryland. One place being the Blackwater National Wildlife refuge.

 This is a juvenile Brown Pelican, adult plumage in seen in their third year. Unlike the White Pelicans, the Brown Pelicans plunge dive for fish.


Cropped shot of one adult Brown Pelican with three juveniles.


They are cool to see in flight, they kind of remind me of a prehistoric bird. I have seen the Brown Pelicans up and down the Atlantic Coast from Maryland and south, on the Pacific Coast, the Caribbean, Costa Rica and in Panama.


To see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.
Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday and thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes.
I wish everyone a happy week ahead and Happy Birding!




47 comments:

  1. They are gorgeous, gorgeous birds, and I love to watch them!

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  2. i have a soft spot for brown pelicans. not sure why. maybe because i drew one for a friend in florida many years ago?

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  3. U nas tych ptaków nie ma w warunkach naturalnych, ale widziałam je w innych krajach. Lubię patrzeć na ich torby pod dziobem napełnione rybami. Bardzo ładne zdjęcia. Pozdrawiam.
    You do not have these birds in the wild, but I've seen them in other countries. I like to look at the bags under the beak full of fish. Very nice pictures. Yours.

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  4. such cool birds. i've always loved them too.

    i keep meaning to ask ... what type of feeder is that - that you use at your home? what type of top does it have .. .. so neat!! i'm sure you know about my still looking for a squirrel-less feeder. no luck yet. ha. ha!!! ( :

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  5. I love these pelicans, they're so cool! Great shots!

    Greetings from Irene

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  6. Great series!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  7. I never thought about it, but those white pelicans are huge! I can recall just moving to Colorado and seeing a flock of "sea gulls" over the rocky mountains. When I pulled up my binoculars, they turned out to be White Pelicans! I couldn't believe it, they were way up there!

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  8. I love the Pelicans. They're so much fun to watch, and they're so huge! Nice photos!!

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  9. they're a wonderful water-bird to photograph and these are lovely variants of what I get to see here

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  10. Fantastic shots of the pelicans. I'm glad you pulled these from your archives to show us this week.

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  11. great shots eileen, they do look prehistoric but beautiful!!

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  12. Awesome shots love your header too!

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  13. Great shots, Eileen
    I would love to see a white pelican here. Ours are always Brownies :)

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  14. Very beautiful photos. I find pelicans fascinating birds. The white one is the state bird of Louisiana. :)

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  15. Yes that last one is a Tricolored heron.. so far you are the only one to notice :) Good eye, Eileen

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  16. I posted a brown pelican, too. Love to see them dive.

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  17. I've never seen a white pelican!! Didn't know about them until Gail posted photos from the LSU lakes in Louisiana. Being from Florida - I've always enjoyed watching the pelicans!! They rule the roost on ocean piers!

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  18. Such neat birds! They do look really cool in flight. Bet they are awesome to see in person!

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  19. We often see the browns skimming over the water here on the Pacific coast. The white pelicans are sometimes seen in our inland waters.

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  20. It's a treat to see your photos. I've only seen white pelicans at the local zoo. These brown ones are pretty! Loved that you captured them in flight.

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  21. I love the pictures, but I also love that this is so informative, too!

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  22. Awesome to see so many pelicans!

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  23. Great photos of the pelicans and how nice to have two kinds close to you.

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  24. They are beautiful, if you love prehistoric birds.

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  25. Attractive photos, we like very much the pelicans. To answer your question, yes it is a question many black-headed gulls ;-)
    Céline & Philippe

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  26. my favorite is the one of them in flight :) not a few times do I dream I had wings...lovely photos as always...and oh yes I love your header so much...those little wings are so beautiful :)

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  27. Ηallo Eileen!Great shots and photos!I love Pelicans,you can find them in our countrysides!!Wishing you a lovely day!Thanks for your comment!!
    Dimi..

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  28. great shots. We don´t have pelicans in sweden. I can think it is a pitty. They are fine birds.

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  29. What beautiful pelican shots. Each one is lovely.

    The lake near my house has a pelican colony. I love watching them, and find them fascinating.

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  30. The pelicans are really pretty. I have enjoyed seeing them in late summer as they journey through our area during migration.

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  31. I think they are fantastic and extraordinary birds! Love to see your beautiful photos of them!
    Thanks for your nice comment, Eileen!
    Greetings Pia

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  32. Cute! I especially like the juvenile brown : )

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  33. The white pelicans come north and spend summers in N. Dakota. I really, really love them. The past few years there have been a few pass through our area in the spring.

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  34. Pelicans look so graceful soaring through the air and landing. You're probably itching to go birding soon so I hope you get your chance.

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  35. Pelicans in Maryland?
    I have to check those out sometime.

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  36. Beautiful photo's! I loved looking at each one..Pelicans are so interesting..I could look at these photo's over and over..

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  37. What a treat Eileen! They are so much fun!

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  38. I'm a big Pelican fan Eileen, American White or Brown, they are both special in their own ways. Watching a flock of White Pelicans herding fish is as much fun as watching the Brown Pelicans diving for fish, well, almost as fun ;-)

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  39. Love the pelicans, Eileen... The white ones are always a favorite of mine... Gorgeous.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  40. beautiful birds! i love to watch them..i rarely see them though.

    gorgeous series of photos as usual!!
    great angles, too.

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  41. They always surprise me. I always think they are tropical birds but lately I see them everywhere...even in the desert. It's so bizarre:) I know how you feel about getting stuck for a bit. I get antsy when I can't bird.

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  42. I love these birds. The brown ones always make me laugh -- they're such clowns. We have a lot of them here in Florida. I too have seen white ones in the oddest places...Colorado being one of the strangest.

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  43. They are beautiful in their own way. Fantastic photos of of them Eileen.. Thank you for linking up to Nature Notes...Michelle

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  44. Great pictures - I love pelicans.

    Thanks for the link to WBW.

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne.

    PS: sorry for slow reply - I been out of internet range in Tasmania!

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  45. Great shots of one of my favorite species! I had a Brown Pelican consider using my head for a roost the other day!

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  46. THe bare tree branches makes a great accent to the lovely sky.

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