Tag Archives: Brown Pelican

Bird Chaos at Bird Key

August 6, 2021 Ellen Jennings 2 Comments

Hundreds of birds nested on Bird Key this summer and the land and sky were full of activity on this July day.

Most of the birds on land seen here are Brown Pelicans, the smaller white ones are chicks. The chicks were awkwardly walking, but not yet flying. There were lots of Laughing Gulls that provided constant noise, and a few White Ibis mixed in.

On the outer edge of the island, the open Atlantic Ocean beyond, a sand bar has formed that was popular spot for preening.

Taken from a boat at Bird Key Stono Heritage Preserve
Between Kiawah Island and Folly Beach, SC

July 12, 2021

Landscape, Water Birds

Brown Pelicans Off Duty

August 4, 2021 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

On our way out to Bird Key to see the Brown Pelican chicks we spotted several small groups of adults flying to sand bars.

According to our guide the adults assign a baby-sitter Pelican at the rookery then find a place to rest.

They certainly picked a beautiful, if sparse, location.

From a boat, Kiawah River, Charleston County, SC
July 12, 2021

Water Birds

Brown Pelican Chicks On the Beach

July 23, 2021 Ellen Jennings 4 Comments

These are a few more images of Brown Pelicans chicks showing the chicks interacting, very awkwardly.

Adult Brown Pelicans are somewhat awkward on land, and if you notice the feet you can see why.

As previously mentioned, I regret I didn’t use a higher shutter speed to offset some of the bobbing boat motion. The images are over-sharpened somewhat to try to make up for that, but I wanted to share them for the seldom seen chick behavior.

Taken from a boat at Bird Key Stono Heritage Preserve
Between Kiawah Island and Folly Beach, SC

July 12, 2021

Water Birds

Brown Pelican Chicks Getting Fed

July 12, 2021 Ellen Jennings 5 Comments

Ted and I went on a guided boat adventure today that included watching juvenile Pelicans at Bird Key Stono Seabird Sanctuary, a significant nesting habitat for seabirds and shorebirds.

Two Brown Pelican Chicks Getting Fed By Parent

Taking pictures from a bobbing boat is a challenge and I regret I didn’t use a higher shutter speed. The chicks are very awkward walkers and not yet flying

Brown Pelican chicks feed a lot like the herons, with the young reaching down into the adult’s throat to get food, not the mouth pouch which is used to catch food.

Bird Key, not much more than a sandbar, is a barrier island that sits in the mouth of the Stono River, between Kiawah and Folly Islands.

Water Birds

Black Skimmer and Brown Pelican

June 4, 2021 Ellen Jennings 6 Comments

I had been watching this Black Skimmer work his way around the inlets at Shem Creek at low tide.

I suspect he had a nest nearby as after this pass he took his catch out into the mouth of the creek…

… caught up to…

…and passed a Brown Pelican.

He disappeared from my sight. The Pelican stayed his course, gliding the whole time.

Water Birds

Gliding Brown Pelican

July 3, 2020 Ellen Jennings 6 Comments

These images combine a few of my favorite photography opportunities: Brown Pelicans, Reflections, and Birds in Flight.

The colored reflections in the water come from piers and docked boats on the other side of the creek.

March 28, 2020
Shem Creek, Mount Pleasant, SC

Landscape

End of Day: Pelicans

June 25, 2020 Ellen Jennings 13 Comments

Flocks of Brown Pelicans provided a spectacular end of day show at Folly Beach on Monday.

A steady parade of small groups flew over the dunes.

The sunset fizzled out as the orb disappeared into a heavy bank of clouds at the horizon.

Birds

Land and Turn

May 14, 2020 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

Pelicans don’t look that agile, but you can see by the landing trail in the water that this fellow executed a 90 degree turn as he was hitting the water. I suspect he saw something for lunch!

We are on day two without internet service but I can log into WP admin with our spotty cell phone data service. I found this post in my drafts from February 2018. I have no idea what my plan for it had been but this seems like a good time to finish the post. I’m still amazed at the way Pelicans can fly and dive.

Water Birds

Brown Pelican, Where Is He Going?

December 18, 2019 Ellen Jennings Leave a comment

Watching and learning to predict behavior goes a long way in bird photography. I saw this Brown Pelican coming in low over the water and was sure he would skim by right in front of me.