Brown Pelicans can be a contradiction. A clumsy dinosaur on land, even working to take off. However, once in the air they are in complete control.

Below an adult almost stopped in mid flight to gently float down into the shallow surf.

Because this is such a busy place, with many opportunities, I tried to hold back on ‘the button’ until just as they dropped down. Of course many shots were trash, few perfect, but still amazing to get the chance at these.