{"id":60840,"date":"2019-10-16T05:48:04","date_gmt":"2019-10-16T11:48:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=60840"},"modified":"2024-11-17T04:35:15","modified_gmt":"2024-11-17T10:35:15","slug":"utahs-long-staying-rare-brown-pelican","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/10\/16\/utahs-long-staying-rare-brown-pelican\/","title":{"rendered":"Utah’s Long-staying Rare Brown Pelican"},"content":{"rendered":"

Concerns about the rare Brown Pelican<\/h2>\n

\"VagrantVagrant Brown Pelican preening \u2013 Nikon D500, f8, 1\/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I photographed Utah’s long-staying rare Brown Pelican again yesterday morning at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a> and as I took photos of it I worried about its future. I have already seen temps in the low 20’s, ice on ponds, frost and snow in the mountains and I know that chances are that this vagrant Brown Pelican wouldn’t be able to survive a Utah winter.<\/p>\n

Many of our American White Pelicans have already migrated to warmer climates and they are tough birds that often return to northern Utah when the waters surrounding the Great Salt Lake are still frozen. I have seen them as late as December but this Brown Pelican probably isn’t quite as tough as the white pelicans can be.<\/p>\n

\"RestingResting Brown Pelican on the Bear River \u2013 Nikon D500, f8, 1\/2000, ISO 500, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

It isn’t unusual for the Bear River to freeze over completely where this Brown Pelican has been seen since late August and if the pelican is still around when the river freezes it won’t be able to catch the fish it will need to survive one of our harsh winters. The water that does remain open during the coldest parts of our winters may not be enough for the pelican.<\/p>\n

So, I hope the Brown Pelican decides to leave Utah soon and will spread its wings to head to a warmer climate where it will be able to survive. Brown Pelicans are usually found on the Pacific, Atlantic and Gulf Coasts<\/span><\/a> and they don’t normally wander as far inland like this one did.<\/p>\n

It has been interesting, thrilling and exciting to have this vagrant Brown Pelican in northern Utah to observe and photograph but the longer it stays the more concern I have for it and its survival as our temps continue to drop.<\/p>\n

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

Mia<\/p>\n

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

I photographed Utah’s long-staying rare Brown Pelican again yesterday morning at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and as I took photos of it I worried about its future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":137051,"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":[124,27,1148,143,7646,26],"tags":[4529,3994,1996,7852,4158,4,706,1902,5558,7851],"class_list":["post-60840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-brown-pelicans","category-rarities","category-utah","tag-bear-river","tag-brown-pelican","tag-driftwood","tag-out-of-range","tag-pelecanus-occidentalis","tag-pelican","tag-pelicans","tag-rare","tag-river","tag-vagrant"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/brown-pelican-bear-river-mia-mcpherson-9741.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-fPi","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":59983,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2019\/09\/05\/rare-brown-pelican-at-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":60840,"position":0},"title":"Rare Brown Pelican At Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 5, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The Brown Pelican didn't do much while I had it in my viewfinder and I probably took way too many photos of it but I don't care, it was unique to see here in land-locked Utah and the setting of the Bear River was definitely different than the many times\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge"","block_context":{"text":"Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adult Brown Pelican on the Bear River, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, 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2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning, at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, the first bird I photographed was an adult American White Pelican in early morning golden light.","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 facing golden morning light, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/american-white-pelican-adult-golden-light-mia-mcpherson-0496.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/american-white-pelican-adult-golden-light-mia-mcpherson-0496.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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