Feb. 2, 2020 - Brown Pelican Diving

Last week I was at St. George Island State Park. As I walked along the beach, I saw several Brown Pelicans soaring over the water and then diving to catch fish. I took several series of photos capturing the entire dive sequence. Here is one of those groups of photos. It starts when the bird spots a fish in the water below. When I can tell that is happening, I hold down the shutter button and take a burst of shots, following the bird right into the water.

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Pelicans are relatively slow flying birds but once the dive starts, it goes quickly. This set of eight photos was taken in less than two seconds.

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The bird sees its target and starts to dive.

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Its wings start to fold as it heads for the water.

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The pelican is concentrating intently on its target.

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Approaching the water, the wings are being pulled back.

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Notice that the bird has turned its body 90 degrees from its position in the last photo. Also, the wings are pulled together straight over the bird’s body. I’ve taken other photos like this showing the pelican right as it enters the water. As in this photo, it usually looks like the bird is leaning slightly backward.

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In this case, the dive was unsuccessful; the fish got away.

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