Tag Archives: Baby Pelican Cruise

Brown Pelican Chick Cruise 2025, 2

July 18, 2025 Ellen Jennings 3 Comments

Here are some more images from our boat trip to Bird Key – Stono. Following up on my previous post, we didn’t see any chicks, but did see some amazing activity, including this Brown Pelican poised for a dive.

Landing on the island is not allowed during nesting season. In addition to the Brown Pelicans, numerous shore birds including Laughing Gulls and Oyster Catchers nest here.

Dogs are never welcome.

The shape of the island is constantly changing, with Pelicans hanging around on all sides, resting or grooming.

This expanse of sand that faces the open ocean has recently expanded but is extremely vulnerable to storm surge as well as the normal accreting and depletion that all ocean facing beaches experience.

June 14, 2025

Bird Key – Stono, a barrier island that sits in the mouth of South Carolina’s Stono River, between Kiawah and Folly Islands.

All photos taken from a boat.

Water Birds

Not Just Brown Pelicans

July 17, 2025 Ellen Jennings 2 Comments

We didn’t just see Brown Pelicans on the Pelican Cruise. A wide variety of other shore birds are using Bird Key this summer, including American Oyster Catchers.

Our guide could see Black Skimmers nesting in the interior of the island with his binoculars.

The bobbing boat prevented any meaningful photographs, but several were resting at the edge of the surf mixed with some Laughing Gulls.

I was disappointed to not get a clearer image of this juvenile Dolphin, but it was such a joy to pass by a Dolphin pod on our way out to Bird Key.

June 14, 2025

Bird Key – Stono, a barrier island that sits in the mouth of South Carolina’s Stono River, between Kiawah and Folly Islands.

All photos taken from a boat.

Water Birds

Brown Pelican Chick Cruise 2025

July 17, 2025 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

Ted and I had the opportunity in June to take a guided boat adventure to see juvenile Pelicans. This year we were back at Bird Key – Stono Seabird Sanctuary which failed as a breeding colony last year due to predator activity.

A number of Brown Pelicans were sitting on nests at the top of a dune and unfortunately chicks were not visible, and may not have hatched yet.

We did get some nice in-flight sightings on the boat trip out.

And some Pelicans that weren’t on nest duty were standing around on the beach.

This beauty glided by us as we were making the return trip to land.

June 14, 2025

Bird Key – Stono, a barrier island that sits in the mouth of South Carolina’s Stono River, between Kiawah and Folly Islands.

All photos taken from a boat.

Shore Birds

Brown Pelican In Flight

July 1, 2023 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

It was a little too windy for this Brown Pelican to just glide over the water…

…he was working it the whole way I watched him across the harbor.

Baby Pelican Cruise with Coastal Expeditions, leaving from Daniel Island on the Wando River side down to Charleston Harbor and the New Crab Bank just off Shem Creek.

Other posts from this adventure

Charleston Harbor, SC
June 23, 2023

Shore Birds

Brown Pelican Chicks, Ground Nests 2

June 30, 2023 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

Another few Brown Pelican chick pictures… I’ve run out of things to say about them other than they are so interesting to see and I’m rooting for their survival.

The chicks need to be protected from the sun so the adults take turns providing shade. The darker brown on this adult’s neck is part of their breeding stage look.

Baby Pelican Cruise with Coastal Expeditions, leaving from Daniel Island on the Wando River side down to Charleston Harbor and the New Crab Bank just off Shem Creek.

Other posts from this adventure

Charleston Harbor, SC
June 23, 2023

Landscape, South Carolina, Transportation

Ravenel Bridge, From The Cooper River

June 29, 2023 Ellen Jennings 4 Comments

The sky looked a bit ominous as we passed under the Ravenel Bridge, but the storm was on its way out. We had just passed under the bridge, this is looking towards Drum Island.

The Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge over the Cooper River in South Carolina, US, connecting downtown Charleston to Mount Pleasant. ~ Wikipedia

Baby Pelican Cruise with Coastal Expeditions, leaving from Daniel Island on the Wando River side down to Charleston Harbor and the New Crab Bank just off Shem Creek.

Other posts from this adventure

Charleston Harbor, SC
June 23, 2023

Shore Birds

Brown Pelican, Nest Material

June 29, 2023 Ellen Jennings 5 Comments

Brown Pelican nests don’t amount to much and if this is all you can deliver at one time it is a good thing.

Brown Pelican Flying In With Nesting Material

I try to avoid “the hand of man” in my nature images, but the closeness of this sign and the blurred boat above show how intimately entwined these birds are with humans.

Brown Pelican Bring Mate Nesting Material

Hmm, which one is MY mate?

A very delicate pass-off maneuver with those big beaks.

Success!

The bird on the nest didn’t get up so I suspect there might already be eggs or new chicks under her. From a bobbing boat you don’t always get to see the full story.

Baby Pelican Cruise with Coastal Expeditions, leaving from Daniel Island on the Wando River side down to Charleston Harbor and the New Crab Bank just off Shem Creek.

Other posts from this adventure

Charleston Harbor, SC
June 23, 2023

Shore Birds

Wordless Wednesday: Brown Pelicans In The Green

June 28, 2023 Ellen Jennings 3 Comments

Baby Pelican Cruise with Coastal Expeditions, leaving from Daniel Island on the Wando River side down to Charleston Harbor and the New Crab Bank just off Shem Creek.

Other posts from this adventure

Charleston Harbor, SC
June 23, 2023

Shore Birds

Brown Pelican Chicks, Ground Nests

June 27, 2023 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

Some of the Pelicans were nesting at the base of Castle Pinkney. The fallen bricks weren’t a deterrent.

On another side of the castle the remnants of a pier had been reinforced with stone, also not a deterrent to the nesting birds.

A few other birds, including some Snowy Egrets were also using this rookery.

The chick in the center of this image has started to change color from the all white at hatching to brown.

Another view near the pilings.

Baby Pelican Cruise with Coastal Expeditions, leaving from Daniel Island on the Wando River side down to Charleston Harbor and the New Crab Bank just off Shem Creek.

Other posts from this adventure

Charleston Harbor, SC
June 23, 2023

Shore Birds

Brown Pelican Chick

June 27, 2023 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

These bricks are on the Castle Pinkney grounds, maybe an old wall that fell, or debris from the castle itself. This older chick could walk around and had started to change into the adult brown colors.

An adult Pelican, sporting the dark brown breeding plumage on its neck, wasn’t far off, keeping an eye on the chick.

Baby Pelican Cruise with Coastal Expeditions, leaving from Daniel Island on the Wando River side down to Charleston Harbor and the New Crab Bank just off Shem Creek.

Other posts from this adventure

Charleston Harbor, SC
June 23, 2023