A couple weeks ago, after we got our late snows, we had some visitors – pelicans! We don’t normally see them around here on their migration, so this was a fun surprise for a few days (unlike the snow).
Midnight Mutts: Pelicans
A couple weeks ago, after we got our late snows, we had some visitors – pelicans! We don’t normally see them around here on their migration, so this was a fun surprise for a few days (unlike the snow).
Travels with Choppy 
Ducks we have, geese we have, even moorhens and the occasional swan, but pelicans?
Not a chance! Lucky you Sarah.
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These were very cool – we’re on their migration, but normally we don’t see them. And, thanks to our late snow, we got several days of them. It was definitely cool (and one of the few good things about a mid-April snowstorm).
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Maybe the start of a regular migration happening. A few days ago I saw Mom & Dad Swans with little gray fluff ball Cygnets.
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Oh, I would love to see swans! Supposedly there is a place up north in Wisconsin where there are thousands of them that gather on their migration. That would be amazing to see.
I think the pelicans were a rare sight, thanks to our April snow that grounded them here. I would guess a few drop in every year, but not in the numbers we had this year.
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I didn’t realize that pelicans migrate. I thought they were strictly shore, as in sea/ocean shore, birds. So cool that you had some pay you a visit.
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Not all of them migrate – the white pelicans do, but the brown pelicans don’t (and we have thus exhausted my knowledge of which pelicans migrate and which do not – I know there are other types of pelicans in the world, but I don’t know their migration habits).
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Well, your exhaustive knowledge far exceeds mine. 😉
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Nicely spotted! 🙂 Somehow I don’t expect to see Pelicans in the wild – a Zoo yes!
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If you’re on the coasts here, you see a lot of them. You see them on northern Canadian lakes in summer, too. But here? They are a rare sight!
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Makes it even more exciting. 🙂
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A fun surprise for sure
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It was! I hope they drop by next spring (but without the mid-April snowstorm).
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yes!
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We don’t have pelicans where I live either, except we are on their migration route. So we see them briefly in the spring and fall. When they fly overhead, they remind me of large blimps, because they float so quietly and effortlessly.
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I call them “tanks of the sky” for the same reason!
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Cool! I had to go read up on them (bird nerd that I am) and found they follow the MS River up into Canada to breed on lakes and estuaries. Didn’t know that!
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I’m pretty sure the most-used app on my phone is my iBird app – I am sure Paul is tired of hearing all about every bird I see over the course of my day.
We sometimes see the white pelicans on our trips up to northern Canada for fishing – not every year, but pretty regularly. Despite this, I always associate them with warm temps and our winter vacations to Florida.
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I think everyone thinks of them as a coastal bird. Good to learn otherwise. 🙂
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Whoa! What a cool visitor.
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They are – we’ll see if they return next year (or this fall), but I think it was a rare chance to see them because of our April snow.
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Choppy, would you like some pelican stew?
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Probably – though based on how aggressive some pelicans are, I think Choppy could be in for an unpleasant surprise if she tries!
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Reblogged this on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!.
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Thank you!
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Wow and double wow! I have only ever seen pelicans in Saint James’s Park in London – on one unfortunate occasion one of the Pellies had turned cannibal and was eating a pigeon. 😮
As an aside, I have been absent for several weeks whilst I effected a rather major move. Now that I am settled it is a pleasure to be able to dip back into the blog-pool and over time I will catch up with all I have missed. And of course, write some of my own too, thought that may be construed as a threat rather than a delight 😉
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Oh, I’m looking forward to your new posts! They are definitely in the “delight” category.
As for the pelicans, I’ve been lucky enough to be around many of them. I can confirm, though, that they can be a bit mean. Sometimes, they are not the most intelligent creatures, either – I’ve seen them get hooked on fishing lines more than once attempting to steal fish (thankfully, I’ve never been the one who has to then unhook the giant bird from the hook).
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My idea of pergatory would be to have to unhook a Pelly from a fishing line!!! Glad you sit in the delight camp. Very glad.
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How nice. Good signs that the bad weather is behind you!
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It is – they’re our literal snowbirds (as opposed to the retiree snowbirds).
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