Thursday Bird Blogging

(Photo by Gary M. Stolz/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

This is usually Ruth's territory, but she's off vacationing, so I'll take over this time.

The Brown Pelican is a bird I've had plenty occasion to observe as I travel up and down the California coast. They aren't the most graceful bird when it comes to landing on the water (calling it a 3-point landing would be far too gracious), but they certainly are effective fishers. From National Geographic, which is where I got the photograph:

The brown pelican, on the other hand, dives on fish (usually a type of herring called menhaden) from above and snares them in its bill. Pelicans do not store fish in their pouch, but simply use it to catch them and then tip it back to drain out water and swallow the fish immediately. ...

In North America, the brown pelican is endangered, but populations are recovering to some extent. The sea birds were devastated by chemical pesticides, such as DDT, which damaged the eggs of pelicans and many other species.

There was a time not so long ago that the pelican nearly disappeared from our coastal waters, but they are indeed on the come-back. They're sociable birds, and their flock sizes have been increasing. Now, especially near fishing docks, they're regular patrons.