Pelican in flight

The brown pelican has made a huge comeback since being driven to 

endangered status in the 1960's and 70's.

The pelican has a peculiar habit  when incubating it's eggs.

It uses the warmth of it's feet to keep the eggs warm and in the 60's and 70's pesticides were a big problem to these magnificent birds. The eggs were too fragile to hold the weight of the parent and so in trying to incubate them, they crushed them.

Since the regulation of pesticides, specifically DDT has become better, the birds have made a nice comeback. Our Galliard island in the Mobile Bay is the perfect rookery, and in the spring, it is covered with the birds nesting. 

I found out recently that they don't dive to catch fish, they dive to stun them. They can dive from as high as 65 feet. They have air sacs they inflate to protect their internal organs. When they spot a potential prey they hover then dive turning to the left as they do so. This protects their airway and esophagus. The birds can also hold 3 gallons of water in their pouch under their beak, but their stomach can only hold about one gallon. They frequently have the stunned fish stolen from them as they are draining the water from their pouch by seagulls.

They also weigh about 7.5 pounds. 

Their wingspan can be up to 5 feet.

The oldest known Brown pelican was 43 years.

An impressive bird to say the least!

Pelican in flight, Acrylic on 24 x 24 shadowbox canvas

Day 32 of the 100 days~100 paintings 2018