White Pelicans, Pond. © Copyright 2018 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
A row of white pelicans swims sedately in clearing morning fog.
White pelicans seem to keep to themselves at the locations where I photograph birds. I’ve gotten to know a few small groups here and there, and I’ve noticed a few things about them. During a season they seem to establish a “home base” and stick to it — and I can almost be certain to find them at the current year’s location. They stick together in groups of perhaps a few dozen, spending a lot of time clumped together near the water, seemingly doing next to nothing. In the morning they frequently fly out after many other birds have already done so. And because their groups are relatively small, these fly-outs happen quickly.
This group was a little ways from its usual spot on this day. They had swum — or perhaps more accurately, floated — across a large pond and eventually drifted quite close to me. Their passage was quiet and sedate, with little movement above the water line. Eventually they arrived at whatever point they had selected, and before long there were headed back the way they had come.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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