Amazing White Pelicans
Check out these amazing white pelicans recently photographed by Fisheries Management Biologist Danny Brown. Brown spent a weekend at Dresser Island Conservation Area photographing waterfowl along the Mississippi River, where he watched these white pelicans foraging on huge, silver carp. He described the scene in an email to several coworkers.
"It was fascinating to watch as sometimes it took several minutes for the pelican to get the fish down," he wrote. "Also, when a pelican caught a fish, the others converged on it to fight for the bounty."
Brown said especially when the much smaller common merganser caught a shad the pelicans would converge on the little guy and try to take its morsel away as well.
I was in awe of Brown's pelican photos when they arrived in my inbox. It's common knowledge that pelicans eat fish, but Brown's photographs forced me to realize pelicans can swallow a decently sized, whole fish, without difficulty.
Pelicans are large birds with a wingspan of 8 to 9 1/2 feet. Weighing in at 10 to 17 pounds, these enormous adult birds eat about four pounds per day. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation they mainly eat non-game fish such as chubs, shiners, carp, catfish, and also crayfish and salamanders.
You can recognize a pelican in flight because they fly in groups with their heads held back on their shoulders and their bills tucked in. Although not a native Missouri bird, Pelicans pass through Missouri to rest and refuel along our waterways on their journey north every spring, and to give us extra incentive to get out and discover nature.
Respond to this blog
Posting a comment requires a subscription.