Yesterday I shared a few of the wading birds I saw on my last trip up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and today I am sharing photos of an American White Pelican I photographed on the same day. I was waiting and watching for Forster’s Terns to fly by and a few pelicans took off from the north and flew in close enough to photograph in flight. A couple of the pelicans flew in small groups of three and four and a few flew by themselves. It is always hard to get all of these large white birds sharp in a group so a few times I opted to focus on the single birds because it is by far easier to get one bird sharp.

American White Pelican defecating while in flight, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, UtahAmerican White Pelican defecating while in flight – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/2500, ISO 320, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

When I focused on this bird I didn’t know I’d be photographing an American White Pelican dumping a load while flying over the marshes at the refuge with the Promontory Mountains in the background. This is a great example of why people should keep their mouths closed when these white pelicans fly directly over our heads though!

American White Pelican pooping while in flight, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, UtahAmerican White Pelican pooping while in flight – Nikon D500, f7.1, 1/2500, ISO 320, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light

I took five frames of this American White Pelican pooping in flight before it stopped relieving itself and continued its flight to the southeast. These aren’t spectacular photos but I always find pooping bird photos a bit funny and of course these images do document natural behavior.

Bombs away!

Life is good.

Mia

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