I was waiting for this Brown Pelican to take off, we were floating close to shore.
You can see he is just standing on the spit of land, the surf lapping at his feet.
However, nothing.
So what was he doing…
Just letting his feet get wet.
A pretty bird, made a great photo, but some action ?
Not happening. Again proves you never know what you might find out there 😂.
Pelican gliding into the surf heading towards land.
Charleston, South Carolina.
Brown Pelican, Bird Key, Charleston.
The perfect image to view on a hot day like today.
A few B&W fun shots.
These are best viewed large since things are happening everywhere… shrimp flying through the air, big Pelican bills poked inside other big Pelican bills, even a poor guy losing his hard fought fish.
In the above it took a while to figure out how a Pelican bill got inside another one !
Fish and shrimp were flying around in the last one.
You just never know what you might see out there.
I love catching these guys at the piers.
Masters at working the shrimp boats.
Charleston, South Carolina.
An immature Pelican riding the surf, with his Laughing Gull neighbors.
However, what was happening to make all the birds look the other way ?
Brown Pelican doing nothing of any consequence.
This Pelican was a little overly dramatic in his landing, but so cool to see them work.
Below he was making a nice slow touch down.
However, he turned it into a small practice dive. They do this practice often too. Brown Pelicans dive from up high to catch prey.
If you have not seen a Pelican work, it’s amazing. Click here to see another article / photos I previously published.
At the last minute he turned a little to the left. They always turn left when diving. Why ?
(Wikipedia) Air sacs beneath the skin on their breasts act like cushions. Also, while diving, a pelican rotates its body ever so slightly to the left. This rotation helps avoid injury to the esophagus and trachea, which are located on the right side of the bird’s neck.
The Peruvian Pelican will dive also, all other Pelicans fish by working the waters surface with their large bills.
Charleston, South Carolina.
