Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
American White Pelicans are large, white waterbirds with black flight feathers and long bills that have pouches.
I love what I do, I love my subjects and it doesn't matter if I find them close to home or further away. I am blessed. 2017 has been wonderful and I am excited for what 2018 may bring.
When I focused on this bird I didn't know I'd be photographing an American White Pelican dumping a load while flying over the marshes at the refuge with the Promontory Mountains in the background.
I just don't know but I do know I have never seen an American White Pelican in flight with its bill looking like this ever before and I have photographed them hundreds of times in flight.
When the young American White Pelicans are old enough to leave the island they fly to areas like Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge to learn how to catch fish on their own before they migrate in the fall.
To me it looks like this American White Pelican was doing an impression of a floating, domestic white turkey because when the pelican was facing me nearly head on the length of pelican's long bill seemed to disappear
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge auto tour route is still closed and many of the birders, bird photographers and nature lovers are itching to know what birds are there because after all spring migration is an exciting time at the refuge.
American White Pelicans are returning to their breeding grounds in Utah and I have already seen a few of them myself and though I haven't been able to photograph them yet I know I will soon.
We still have our winter birds and the spring migrants have begun their journey north so my bird photography is likely to pick up and get exciting soon if the clouds will give me a break.
If you would like to follow some of the American White Pelicans from Utah on migration a few of them have been fitted with solar-powered GPS transmitter backpacks and the PeliTrack map shows their locations.
This is National Wildlife Refuge Week and in celebration I wanted to do a pictorial essay that includes some of my images of the Birds of Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act has been monumentally successful and we need to insure that it continues and not allow the treaty to become weakened.
I had a great deal of fun photographing the pelicans, herons, egrets and geese in flight in the rapidly changing light yesterday morning at Bear River MBR.
Two days ago while on the auto tour loop at Bear River MBR an American White Pelican caught my eyes because of its unusually dark crown, nape, and neck plumage.
I wanted to share an image of an American White Pelican in summer plumage today because summer is upon us and today marks America's Independence Day.
One of my favorite things is to see is squadrons of American White Pelicans wheeling in the sky high overhead circling until they are out of sight.
This American White Pelican image was taken on my first camping trip to Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge
This American White Pelican image was taken in July near the auto tour loop at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and I like how it shows the pelican fishing for food.
Yesterday I posted a juvenile Wilson's Phalarope and today I am posting an assortment of others birds I photographed the same day at Bear River NWR.
Every once in a while I find myself attracted to an image not just because of the subject but also because of reflections and this American White Pelican image is one of those.
One thing I know for certain is that we can't drink dust.
So, since the temperatures have been so much warmer than normal I wouldn't be surprised to see American White Pelicans any day now.
The caruncle or horn is a growth on the bill of American White Pelicans that occurs yearly during the breeding season.
It isn't all that often that I am able to obtain portraits of wild birds so when I had an opportunity last month to take portraits of this American White Pelican I jumped at the chance.
If you ever get to Utah be sure to try to spend a morning or even a full day at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge because there is always something great going on there!
It is Earth Day and I wanted to write about it this morning. A LOT of good has come from everyone's involvement in Earth Day but there is still so much to be done.
Preening in birds is essential for keeping their feathers clean, arranged correctly and for some birds it is a way to distribute oils from the uropygial gland which helps to keep the feathers clean and healthy.
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.
Many beginning photographers dream of taking images in far off places of exotic birds and there is nothing wrong with that. But we shouldn’t overlook the advantages of photographing birds close to home.
The snow has melted in the Salt Lake Valley where temps have been unseasonably warm thanks to the "Pineapple Express" and although winter hasn't left it has begun to feel like spring which means it won't be long before spring has sprung up all over Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge!
It won't be long before the American White Pelicans are back at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge which is where I photographed the pelican in the image above last spring.