Pelicans On The Prairie
A couple weeks ago, a flock of American White Pelicans visited our neighborhood. They were taking a rest stop on their migration north, and decided to hang out on a farm pond just north of our place. Did you know that this pelican is one of the largest birds in North America? They have nine foot wingspan, but in spite of their large size, they are very graceful fliers.
I took this short video of the flock on my way to work:
They left that afternoon, in a hurry to get to their breeding grounds further north. They’ll spend the summer raising their young in the Dakotas, or further north in Canada.
They only stayed with us one day, but it was nice to have them while they were here.
What birds do you see migrating through in your area?
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Lots of preening to keep those feathers in good shape for the rest of the trip! Cool!
So beautiful. I’ve always thought of them as being far more southern. Now I know 🙂
Thanks.
I used to see Sandhill cranes years ago; don’t know what happened except that a great many farmers quit the business. Guess the birds had no food source and moved on. They were about noisy but I liked to hear them.
That’s a great video, Suzanne! White pelicans are soooo beautiful! The first time I saw some, I was stunned!
We have the brown pelicans on the Oregon Coast – after seeing the white ones, they really almost look dowdy!
Thanks for sharing!
Living in FL, we are the destination for many birds. Like someone else, my fav are the Sandhills Cranes.
Beautiful! Makes you extra thankful for a “long” camera lens!
We have both the brown and white pelicans, but we’re only treated to the white ones in winter. Hummingbirds come through, and cedar waxwings. Robins, too. In the spring, the “fall out” along the Texas-Louisiana coast is famous. Every sort of songbird crossing the Gulf of Mexico sees our coast and “falls out” with exhaustion, so happy to see land!
The osprey come and go, and kingfishers, too. They’re both here in the winter, and then go who knows where. But we love to see them when they’re here.