Jan. 31, 2010 - Brown Pelican Feeding Frenzy

Two days ago a small group of Brown Pelicans went into a feeding frenzy in the Gulf of Mexico right in front of the home we are renting in Florida. They were gorging themselves on some kind of fish close to the shore.

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Here’s one of the Pelicans flying in to join the banquet.

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The Brown Pelican’s normal method of fishing is to dive headfirst into the water from as high as 60 feet in the air. However, this time, they just floated in the water and dipped their heads in to scoop up the fish. I suspect that the water was too shallow to allow them to dive so they went to plan B.

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The waves were quite high so the pelicans had to fight through them to get at the fish. Their 7-foot wingspan was very evident as they held their wings up in the air.

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This pelican has just finished swallowing some fish. The second pelican appears to be mostly underwater but it is just behind one of the large waves.

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These two are resting after getting their fill of fish.

Historically, Brown Pelicans were devastated by the effects of DDT; by 1970 their population had plunged to dangerously low levels. With the ban on DDT they have made a remarkable comeback and will soon be coming off the endangered species list. The Brown Pelican is the state bird of Louisiana.

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