It rained most of the day here so I looked at a few Brown Pelican images taken in December in Florida where it was much sunnier in 2008.

Preening juvenile Brown Pelican in FloridaPreening juvenile Brown Pelican in Florida – Nikon D200, handheld, f8, 1/350, ISO 160, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 270mm, natural light

I miss seeing Brown Pelicans, we don’t have them here in Utah. They are so much fun to photograph whether they are preening, flying or diving from the air after prey. They capture their prey by diving from the air and splashing into the water head first. Makes me wonder how the juveniles learn that skill.

I looked on eBird and see that a Brown Pelican was seen in July of 2004 near the causeway to Antelope Island State Park (not confirmed by the records committee), and in May of 2004 at Newcastle Reservoir in south western Utah. Prior to 2004 there were sightings in 1984, 1972, 1944 and 1934 shown on UtahBirds.org.

I guess I will keep on looking for them here. Who knows, I won’t rule out seeing one. Or head to the West Coast.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Brown Pelican photos plus facts and information about this species.