Flock of Pelicans in Flight. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. January 25, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A flock of a half dozen pelicans in flight approachs with partly cloudy sky beyond, Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

Getting this shot required preparation, the use of particular photographic equipment, quick reactions… and, as always when wildlife is concerned, a fair amount of dumb luck.

I am fascinated by the pelicans found along the Pacific coastline. For me they seem to stand apart from the other seabirds – they are bigger, their flight pattern is different, and they somehow look prehistoric when they coast by. I’m certainly no bird expert, but I’ve watched these birds enough to start to pick up on certain patterns that help me when I try to photograph them. One of the most important things I discovered is that successive groupings tend to fly almost identical paths near the coast. If you locate one of these spots and are patient and prepared, there is a very good chance that you’ll have a chance at photographing them.

On this occasion I was at Point Lobos and I had driven down to the south end of the park road and parked at the trailhead for Bird Island and China Beach. Originally I had planned to shoot seascapes, but the conditions were not quite what I had in mind, so I decided to pay more attention to the birds. Right by this parking lot there is a small cove, and along its left side as you face the sea there is a small and somewhat low peninsula of land extending seaward a bit. As I was unloading the car the first flock came by, seemingly only a few feet from the edge of the bluff. Because they were flying into a stiff wind they were not only close to the shore by they also coasted by very slowly. Needless to say, I quickly put on the long lens (100-400mm), grabbed my tripod, and took up a position opposite this peninsula and waited for the next group to come over. As luck would have it, not only did they come over – flying almost directly toward my camera position – but the clouds cleared enough to light them but stuck around enough to provide an interesting background! (Like I wrote earlier, luck…)

In this shot there is something about that bird at the upper left with wings aloft and slightly separated from the rest of the group (with their wings horizontal or lower) and, lucky for me, I managed to get the focus right on this bird. In the large version you can actually see the reflection in the eye of the bird.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

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