Hey, where's everybody going?
Something new and different today for 'Feathery Friday". While driving along the Mississippi River last March we came across this beautiful colony of White Pelicans on their way back north to their Summer breeding grounds. There were literally 100's of them along the shoreline.
The American White Pelican has a vertebra in their neck that prohibits them from raising their face. During mating season the males develope a fibrous plate on the upper part of the beak that is only characteristic in the White Pelican population. You can see it very clearly on the beaks of the birds in the large size.
Mostly white with black primary and outer secondary feathers, they have a wingspan of 8-91/2 feet. The lower mandible of the beak stretches up to 6 inches. They don't hit the water from on high and dive for their food like the Brown Pelican. Instead, they float on the water and scoop up their prey, then turn the beak sideways, drain the water, then swallow.
The females lay 2-4 eggs. Chicks are naked at birth. By the time they are 10 days old they are covered with white down. Both parents incubate the eggs with their large webbed feet. The eggs hatch in about a month. The chicks dig regurgitated food out of their parents pouches. Chicks will leave the nest and join the pod, or a creche of young pelicans, when they are 17-28 days old. Chicks fledge when they are about 10 weeks old.
White Pelicans in the wild can live more than 16 years, with the record standing at 34 years...quite an impressive life-span in the wild, imho.
Hope you enjoy today's posts...something not seen too often.
Have a great Friday, and wonderful weekend...=-)
Daisy
Comments and faves
Daisy Mai-ling (4 months ago | reply)
Elegant...
All face left, all face left...
Just a small portion of the hundreds of Pelican resting on the shoreline...
pieceoflace (4 months ago | reply)
Good morning Daisy...and Happy Feathery Friday to you. And what a sight this must have been in person. The last pic is so cool with them all in sync looking in the same direction. All except one that seems to be pruning itself. Beautiful birds and I never knew you could see Pelicans here in the Midwest. Nice series and thanks for sharing this with us along with the text. I hope you are well and have a truly nice day and most pleasant weekend.
greekstifado - Yanni added this photo to his favorites. (4 months ago)
greekstifado - Yanni (4 months ago | reply)
WOW!!!! What a great shot Daisy.....this is awesome......I've never seen so many before together in one shot...very nice. Wishing you a wonderful day!!!
Meredith M! (4 months ago | reply)
Cool shots! These are impressive birds, especially seeing them in large numbers. I like the first shot with one guy going his own way. Have a great weekend!
jrix (4 months ago | reply)
Splendid series! Love the title as spoken by the "Lone Pelican".
This photo was invited and added to the PicturePerfect (INVITE ONLY) group.
cfotos4fun-Russell (4 months ago | reply)
Awesome series Daisy!!!!!!!!!!!!!
muledriver and Rahul Singh Lamba added this photo to their favorites.
Rahul Singh Lamba (4 months ago | reply)
Very beautiful composition!
Bringing the exposure down will be still better.
Brian D. Tucker (4 months ago | reply)
What splendid shots, Daisy!! I especially like the fellow in the main post who is heading upstream, LOL. Hope you're having a lovely weekend, my friend!
Brian D. Tucker added this photo to his favorites. (4 months ago)
DrgnMastr (4 months ago | reply)
I saw this wonderful image in: PicturePerfect (INVITE ONLY)
Excellent capture. Well Done!!
I think this bird image is really excellent. You are invited to post it to Excellence In Avian Photography. Please read the rules before posting your image.
maninthewoods (3 months ago | reply)
I like.