Sunday, April 21, 2013

Pelecanus occidentalis


There is a pelican rookery in the Ten Thousand Islands area that I have been visiting since 2009. Each spring, dozens of pelican couples nest in a small area of a large body of water that is speckled with several small mangrove islands. Great and snowy egrets nest along side the large beaked pelican. From year to year, I notice changes. For instance, the pelicans have abandoned one of the islands completely (once quite popular for several pelican nests) and have moved to another. But every year, they come back to the area. And every year, I visit them with my camera.


The babies are few and far between right now, but I suspect that in a couple weeks I will see several more nest-confined chicks. For the most part, the rookery islands are an active scene of adults flying to and from the nests, mostly to gather nest material while the other parent remains on the nest.

I have written some information on the nesting pelican some time ago, so I will not repeat it here. Please check out my previous blog for more information. In the meantime, enjoy these photos of the brown pelican