Eleven years ago this morning I had an amazing time photographing flocks of Brown Pelicans plunge feeding in the Gulf of Mexico.
Please, please, find an authorized and licensed bird or wildlife rehabilitator in your area immediately.
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.
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 I have photographed this species back East.
It was wonderful to be close to the juvenile Brown Pelican and to be able to take portraits of it plus I also enjoyed being able to see all the fine details of its plumage, the texture of its bill and look into its dark eyes.
Brown Pelicans are nearly as common in coastal Florida as Canada Geese are here in Utah but they are birds and I find them all appealing.
It rained most of the day here so I looked at a few Brown Pelican images taken in December in Florida where it was much sunnier in 2008.
I worked up two older Brown Pelican images to share this morning taken at Fort De Soto in 2009 and 2008.
Six years ago today I was sand crawling on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico at Fort De Soto's north beach photographing pelicans, godwits and dowitchers plus other birds.
It's Monday and I didn't have any idea what to post this morning so I opted to present this image of two Brown Pelicans flying double-decker style over the Gulf of Mexico.
In Florida it was not uncommon for me to see Brown Pelicans gliding just barely above the surface of the Gulf of Mexico like the juvenile shown in my image.
The recent arrival of American White Pelicans to the Salt Lake Valley started me thinking about the differences between Brown Pelicans and American White Pelicans.
I like Brown Pelicans and even though I don't see them here in Utah I have plenty of images on file that I took during the period of time that I lived in Florida.
After posting an image of a American White Pelican lifting off two days ago I thought I should post an photo of a Brown Pelican today for comparison.
Some days I find myself missing Fort De Soto so much it hurts, the birds I found there and the entire experience of just being there. It is just such an amazing place, how could I not miss it?
The forecast is calling for snow today and there is already a heavy cloud cover so looked back through my files and found some Brown Pelican images taken on a warm February morning in Florida to post today.
I love winter, I love seeing snow on the mountains and feeling the crispness in the air but I am getting tired of gray cloudy days and heavy fog so I thought I would post a few bird images from warmer and sunnier days that I took while I lived in Florida.
Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) were common year round along the Gulf coast when I lived in Florida. I would see them floating in the water, resting on sandbars and beaches, diving for prey and in flight.
I often forget that by backing up my zoom, swapping my long lens for a wide angle lens or backing up physically I can get the "whole picture".
Brown Pelicans feed by diving head first into the water to trap fish in the pouches of their bills.
Though I quite often photograph birds so that they are what is labled "frame filling" I also like to compose images that show the bird or animals small in the frame.