{"id":113592,"date":"2023-05-29T01:11:13","date_gmt":"2023-05-29T07:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=113592"},"modified":"2023-05-29T15:26:46","modified_gmt":"2023-05-29T21:26:46","slug":"spring-american-white-pelican-portraits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/05\/29\/spring-american-white-pelican-portraits\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring American White Pelican Portraits"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before summer begins, I wanted to share these American White Pelican portraits that I took along the shoreline of my local pond.<\/p>\n

\"AmericanAmerican White Pelican portrait with a split horn \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f11, 1\/1600, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I love portraits of my feathered subjects and these images show why. I love all the fine feather details, the close-up view of the pelican’s eyes, and the wispy head feathers they develop in breeding plumage. Plus, the views of the horny plates these pelican have during the early part of their breeding season.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult American White Pelican portrait at a local pond \u2013 Nikon D500, tripod mounted, f11, 1\/1250, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

By standing still at my local pond, behind my tripod, I am able to take numerous portraits of the pelicans that visit to eat the fish in the pond.<\/p>\n

Every time I have these big, white pelicans in my viewfinder, I feel joy. How could I not?<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a><\/span> to see more of my American White Pelican photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Before summer begins, I wanted to share these American White Pelican portraits that I took along the shoreline of my local pond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":113585,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,27,709,26],"tags":[4004,3966,4053,4142,2389,10698,4154,706,13934,1984,4046,5268,165,8018,3996],"class_list":["post-113592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-white-pelicans","category-avian","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-american-white-pelican","tag-breeding-plumage","tag-close-up","tag-horn","tag-park","tag-pelecanus-erythrorhynchos","tag-pelicans","tag-plate","tag-pond","tag-portrait","tag-split","tag-spring","tag-urban","tag-water"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/american-white-pelican-adult-mia-mcpherson-2343.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-ty8","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":101504,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/04\/10\/american-white-pelican-in-low-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":113592,"position":0},"title":"American White Pelican In Low Light","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I am enjoying seeing the birds that have returned to breed in Utah including this American White Pelican I photographed in low light two days ago at a local pond.","rel":"","context":"In "American White Pelicans"","block_context":{"text":"American White Pelicans","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/pelicans\/white-pelicans\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult American White Pelican in low light, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/american-white-pelican-early-morning-mia-mcpherson-3848.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/american-white-pelican-early-morning-mia-mcpherson-3848.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/american-white-pelican-early-morning-mia-mcpherson-3848.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/american-white-pelican-early-morning-mia-mcpherson-3848.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16228,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/10\/21\/american-white-pelican-stretching\/","url_meta":{"origin":113592,"position":1},"title":"American White Pelican Stretching","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The caruncle or horn is a growth on the bill of American White Pelicans that occurs yearly during the breeding season.","rel":"","context":"In "American White Pelicans"","block_context":{"text":"American White Pelicans","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/pelicans\/white-pelicans\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American White Pelican stretching, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-white-pelican-mia-mcpherson-stretching-3383.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-white-pelican-mia-mcpherson-stretching-3383.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-white-pelican-mia-mcpherson-stretching-3383.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-white-pelican-mia-mcpherson-stretching-3383.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":100969,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/03\/22\/american-white-pelican-in-bright-morning-light\/","url_meta":{"origin":113592,"position":2},"title":"American White Pelican In Bright Morning Light","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 22, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I have a lot going on right now so this morning I'm only sharing one image of an adult American White Pelican in bright morning light taken five days ago.","rel":"","context":"In "American White Pelicans"","block_context":{"text":"American White Pelicans","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/pelicans\/white-pelicans\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult American White Pelican in bright morning light, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/american-white-pelican-mia-mcpherson-3479.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/american-white-pelican-mia-mcpherson-3479.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/american-white-pelican-mia-mcpherson-3479.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/american-white-pelican-mia-mcpherson-3479.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10403,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/11\/12\/an-american-white-pelicans-horn\/","url_meta":{"origin":113592,"position":3},"title":"An American White Pelican “Horn”","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 12, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The horn is a growth on the bill of American White Pelicans that occurs during the breeding season and I am fortunate to live in a location where these big, white pelicans breed.","rel":"","context":"In "American White Pelicans"","block_context":{"text":"American White Pelicans","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/pelicans\/white-pelicans\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American White Pelican\u2019s \u201chorn\u201d, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-white-pelican-stretching-mia-mcpherson-3384.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-white-pelican-stretching-mia-mcpherson-3384.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-white-pelican-stretching-mia-mcpherson-3384.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-white-pelican-stretching-mia-mcpherson-3384.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":112311,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/04\/16\/spring-american-white-pelican-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":113592,"position":4},"title":"Spring American White Pelican Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 16, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This collection of American White Pelican photos were taken starting the 6th of April. Some of the images show the snow from a snowstorm earlier this month.","rel":"","context":"In "American White Pelicans"","block_context":{"text":"American White Pelicans","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/pelicans\/white-pelicans\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American White Pelican in a morning mist, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/american-white-pelican-adult-mist-mia-mcpherson-0481.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/american-white-pelican-adult-mist-mia-mcpherson-0481.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/american-white-pelican-adult-mist-mia-mcpherson-0481.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/american-white-pelican-adult-mist-mia-mcpherson-0481.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":51779,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/04\/23\/american-white-pelican-in-definitive-alternate-plumage-aka-breeding-plumage\/","url_meta":{"origin":113592,"position":5},"title":"American White Pelican in Definitive Alternate Plumage aka Breeding Plumage","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 23, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday was my first opportunity this year to be able to take quality images of American White Pelicans in Definitive Alternate Plumage or as it is better known, breeding plumage.","rel":"","context":"In "American White Pelicans"","block_context":{"text":"American White Pelicans","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/pelicans\/white-pelicans\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American White Pelican with bill wide open, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-white-pelican-bill-wide-open-mia-mcpherson-1985.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-white-pelican-bill-wide-open-mia-mcpherson-1985.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-white-pelican-bill-wide-open-mia-mcpherson-1985.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/american-white-pelican-bill-wide-open-mia-mcpherson-1985.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113592"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113592\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}