American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) Strikes a Pose

[Bo Zarts]

Aransas National Wildlife Refuge - Texas Gulf Coast
©2026 Bo Zarts Studio

[CozyMystery]

1. What a beautiful photo of a beautiful bird!

Pelicans are my favorite birds.

A long time ago, I was in the water at Sanibel Island, in Florida. The was at a time, which I thought was very strange, that most people did not go to the beach at all -- I was usually alone, no matter what. Maybe because it was June.

I spent a lot of time watching the brown pelicans. They fascinated me. A group-flock-herd of them landed in the water close to me, forming a circle around me. I was awestricken, and kept quiet and made no movement because I was afraid I'd scare them away. They flew off a minute or two later.

I will never forget that experience.

[waterwatcher123]

2. We were in Florida recently at Hobe Sound and the Brown Pelicans were diving at high speed into the surf (good show).

We got back to our place on the St. Louis River near Lake Superior shortly thereafter and witnessed huge flocks of white pelicans floating along leisurely scooping up walleye fry (another good pelican show).

[Bo Zarts]

4. Brown pelicans dive at neck-breaking speed for their food ..

White pelicans float in a group .. " rafts " .. and corral their food for easy pickings. It makes my neck hurt to watch Brown pelicans dive into the water.

Brown pelicans were on the way to extinction before the banning of DDT. Fortunately, the population of Brown pelicans is once again healthy.

[waterwatcher123]

5. The St. Louis River is a Great Lakes Area of Concern (so, it is nice to see the return of white pelicans).

It was interesting to see how many people ventured out to see the white pelicans (cars everywhere with cameras and people of all ages). This area in the St. Louis River estuary is one of the key walleye and Lake Sturgeon spawning areas on Lake Superior. So, there were lots of white pelicans with fish sticking out of both sides of their mouths.

Those brown pelicans are amazing to watch too. They were all over place at Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge when we visited in April. People were fishing as well. So, my guess is there were lots of fish nearshore where those brown pelicans were diving. It is quite a testament to the resiliency of nature to see brown pelicans doing so well.

[Walleye]

3. I know how that feels. I still remember the hummingbird that came right up to my face when I was five years old.