A dozen White Pelicans were paddling back and forth across the back of this pond with a Great Blue Heron watching over them.
All of a sudden it was time to move on.
These huge birds make very little disruption as they take off. They can weigh up to 20 pounds (9 KG) and leave barely a ripple in the water..
Their effortless looking flight continued as they banked, turning towards another pond further into the old rice impoundment.
At first at seemed that the White Pelican had no interest in the Wood Stork as he casually paddled along.
But as he got closer I began to wonder.
Surely, the Wood Stork would have some kind of reaction.
I wish I could have seen this from another angle–did the Wood Stork reach into the Pelican’s beak?
Whatever happened, the White Pelican decided to move on, continuing to make a little flap about it.
The Wood Stork continued to pay no attention.
11/19/2018 Donnelley Wildlife Management Area
Brown Pelicans have learned to gather where Dolphins are strand feeding. They’ve figured out that fish can’t be far off and may be available for poaching.
I was watching this one as he artfully took off.
And swooped out over the river.
I didn’t realize until he turned and landed that I was missing a Dolphin strand feeding.
These Dolphins were strand feeding on the opposite side of the river, at least 300 feet (90 Meters) from where I was standing. The photos don’t have nearly the detail as my Dolphins Strand Feeding: Success post, but I thought it was quite interesting to see the process from a different angle.
Not to mention the Pelicans that were keen on seeing if they could nab a fish from all the action.
The Pelicans were following the Dolphins as they swam up and down the river. I didn’t see any fish this time but the Pelican on the left made a quick exit as if he had something he didn’t want to share.
We had seen a few White Pelicans in the air earlier in the morning so weren’t too surprised to see them resting on the ground at the edge of a pond and happily stopped to see so many. They were quite a distance off the road but there was a clear view and I would say there were at least two hundred birds.
A number of Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets were sprinkled around the periphery of the group, including this group looking like a police line up.
Most of the Pelicans were preening or resting. A few Coots were going about their business in the water around them.
One daring Great Egret landed right in the middle of small group of Pelicans. The Pelicans took no notice.
Photographed at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, 2/21/2018.
A fellow photographer spotted the Pelicans at quite a distance when we stopped to view some ducks along Black Point Wildlife Drive. We watched them approach for what seemed like several minutes but probably was only 30 seconds, hoping they would land in the pond in front of us.
Instead they treated us to an amazing aerial ballet, with the birds shifting position in the group, breaking apart and reforming, in an elegant flight display.
The American White Pelican is one of North America’s largest birds, with a wingspan from 8-10 feet (2.5-3 meters)!
As they glided by I could see that the individual birds adjusted their altitude as well as their flock position and no matter how close they got to each other there was no evidence of an in-flight bump.
Photographed at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Florida.
Click photos for larger view.
Secret, secret, who’s got a secret?
Let me show you.
Now it’s gone.
Made me laugh!
Click on any photo for larger view.
He’s all lined up:
Landing gear extended:
A gentle splash:
Another successful landing of the pelican express.
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Florida
I’ve tried to stop taking bird in flight shots unless they are really close as I just end up disappointed and deleting them.
However, when this flock was coming, I took the shot. Lots of them actually.
We had seen a large number of these Pelicans as the sun was coming up. This was about an hour later and hundreds more passed over us in a few waves over several minutes.
In the next photo you can pick out a couple of Cormorants in the mix. I’m not sure if they were flying with the Pelicans or if the Pelicans passed them.
We were hoping the flock might land in a nearby pond, but they kept on moving at a pretty brisk pace.
Click on any photo for a larger view.
Quietly and without any fuss Pelicans glide around the edges of the harbor. Generally moving at a slow speed, the shot is all about the angle.
Coming straight at me, this pair turned together like a pair of dancers.
They veered off at the last moment, following the shape of the USS Yorktown and staying over the water. I was at the edge of the flight deck where the deck becomes wider.
This single Pelican was also following the edge of the Yorktown, a little higher off the water, with the Charleston Peninsula as his backdrop.
The Pelican’s large wingspan makes a shot against the sky work. The feather and chest detail show off nicely as he passed over me with just a tilt to alter his direction.
Taken three days in May, 2017.
