{"id":4851,"date":"2012-04-21T07:45:56","date_gmt":"2012-04-21T13:45:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=4851"},"modified":"2024-09-22T03:43:42","modified_gmt":"2024-09-22T08:43:42","slug":"american-white-pelicans-of-the-great-basin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/04\/21\/american-white-pelicans-of-the-great-basin\/","title":{"rendered":"American White Pelicans of the Great Basin"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AmericanAmerican White Pelicans soaring on a thermal over the Great Salt Lake – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 640, +1.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 200mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

During the winter months I miss seeing large flocks of American White Pelicans\u00a0 soaring in the thermals, in the past few weeks I have been delighted to see them again.<\/p>\n

It is hard to explain to a person who has never seen American White Pelicans circling on the thermals how amazing it is to see a large flock seemingly disappear from the sky and then a split second later see them reappear. It is just a matter of their body angle at certain times that makes them nearly invisible as they turn but it sure feels magical to me.<\/p>\n

I photographed the pelicans above soaring on a thermal over the Great Salt Lake from Antelope Island State Park last week. There were three separate flocks soaring at first but all of them joined together as I watched and photographed them. American White Pelicans are known to soar to high elevations when soaring in the thermals, they can become invisible to the naked eye and to a person using 10x binoculars.<\/p>\n

\"AmericanAmerican White Pelicans lifting off – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/2000, ISO 500, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Early this week I spent some time camping at Locomotive Springs, a very desolate,\u00a0arid and uninhabited area north of the Great Salt Lake and many miles west of I-15. The area is managed by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) that is only accessible by gravel roads. I photographed these pelicans as they lifted off from one of the springs near the campsite. While the springs are natural they have been altered (improved?)\u00a0by the BLM and fish are stocked in some of them.<\/p>\n

\"FluffedFluffed up American White Pelican – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/2500, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

There is a large breeding colony of American White Pelicans on Gunnison Island<\/span><\/a> in the Great Salt Lake, approximately 10 to 20% of the entire population of American White Pelicans breed and nest in that area.<\/p>\n

Because the Great Salt Lake is too saline for fish to live in the pelicans fly from Gunnison Island to locations such as Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> about 30 miles to the east to find food. The freshwater areas on the refuge do contain fish and large numbers of American White Pelicans can be found there.<\/p>\n

*Access to Gunnison Island is restricted to protect the nesting birds.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The pelican in the image above has not yet gone into breeding plumage, it does not have the “horn” or “caruncle” on the bill typically seen in breeding American White Pelicans. I photographed this pelican from the auto tour route this past Monday at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.<\/p>\n

\"AmericanAdult American White Pelican – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1\/3200, ISO 640, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This adult American White Pelican; also photographed this past Monday at the refuge, is in breeding plumage as indicated by the “horn” or “caruncle” on the bill and the solid white head.<\/p>\n

During the summer American White Pelicans are commonly found at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, often they can be seen in large numbers feeding in the impoundments, along the marshes and while\u00a0along the road\u00a0to the refuge on the Bear River.<\/p>\n

I’m glad that the American White Pelicans are back in Utah. Seeing them always delights me.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

During the winter months I miss seeing large flocks of American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) soaring in the thermals, in the past few weeks I have been delighted to see them again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":134886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,511,124,27,1431,26],"tags":[4051,3966,9724,5281,4052,1446,6068,4075,4154,4,706,6343,9723,9722,4321],"class_list":["post-4851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-white-pelicans","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-locomotive-springs","category-utah","tag-adults","tag-american-white-pelican","tag-breeding-colony","tag-campsite","tag-flight","tag-great-basin","tag-gunnison-island","tag-nest","tag-pelecanus-erythrorhynchos","tag-pelican","tag-pelicans","tag-soaring","tag-springs","tag-thermal","tag-thermals"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/american-white-pelican-fluffed-mia-mcpherson-4670.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-1gf","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":106588,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/09\/29\/american-white-pelican-reflections\/","url_meta":{"origin":4851,"position":0},"title":"American 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/american-white-pelicans-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-8799.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/american-white-pelicans-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-8799.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/american-white-pelicans-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-8799.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/american-white-pelicans-bear-river-mbr-mia-mcpherson-8799.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":57292,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/04\/16\/american-white-pelican-foraging-by-itself\/","url_meta":{"origin":4851,"position":3},"title":"American White Pelican Foraging By Itself","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 16, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"On my visit to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge last week I didn't see large numbers of American White Pelicans but at this time of the year that is understandable because many of them are probably nesting on Gunnison Island right now.","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 marsh, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/american-white-pelican-marsh-mia-mcpherson-7892.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/american-white-pelican-marsh-mia-mcpherson-7892.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/american-white-pelican-marsh-mia-mcpherson-7892.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/american-white-pelican-marsh-mia-mcpherson-7892.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":4851,"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":118895,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/12\/11\/bird-talk-american-white-pelicans\/","url_meta":{"origin":4851,"position":5},"title":"Bird Talk: American White Pelicans","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"My subject today is about bird talk: American White Pelicans, my friend Adonis, and his recent first trip back East, and to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.","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 Pelicans on the wing, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-white-pelicans-in-flight-mia-mcpherson-3581.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-white-pelicans-in-flight-mia-mcpherson-3581.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-white-pelicans-in-flight-mia-mcpherson-3581.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-white-pelicans-in-flight-mia-mcpherson-3581.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\/4851","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=4851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}