February 07, 2008 - Pelicans put on a show• February 7, 2008
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Everyone knows what a pelican is
but few realize there are two differ-
ent pelicans: the brown pelican that
sometimes strays up into our area
and the white pelican that is only
seen down here in Florida, where
they come to spend the winter feed-
ing in the bays and shallows along
the coast. We often see them roost-
ing on sandbars or other low areas.
They feed by working the shallow
waters with their huge, naked, yel-
low pouches.
The white pelicans do not feed like
the brown pelicans we see drop into
the water from 70 feet to catch their
prey; rather,
the movement
Focus of the white
pelican is more
ON like a sweeping
NATURE net,, scooping up
small fish on the
by praul surface as the
StOutenburgh pelican paddles
along. Often we
see these large
white birds working together, herd-
ing the small fish before them into
shallow water. Then, as they mill
around together, there's a frenzy of
feeding, where everyone gets into the
act, including cormorants, gulls, terns
— all diving and grabbing whatever
N.
Lney can. it remmas one of a wort
pack homing in on prey and then the
coyotes, the magpies, the vultures
all come in to get their share. Just
yesterday we watched this coopera-
tive effort being played out right in
front of us as white pelicans herded
the fish before them and other birds
came in to get their share.
Even though we've seen them
many times diving, the other day
seemed extra special, for the wind
was right and the baitfish were in,
and, dive after dive, the brown peli-
cans would drop into the water like
missiles, creating a huge splash. We
wanted desperately to record the
i
News -ReVow photos by Biirlxim Somtenhurgh�
The American white pelican stands four feet tall and has a wingspan of nine feet. You can tell by the knobs on the
upper part of the bill that it's time for mating. The knob (its fancier name is nuptial tubercle) drops off when mating
is accomplished.
„t
explosions of spray and water as the
bird's hit the surface, but never did
get it just right.
Another day we stopped at the
same beach to see what birds were
there. It's one of those beaches that
never fail to produce something of
interest. What caught our eyes was
this lump about the size of a hefty
rocx some ntstance away; mis was
one of those beaches that are made
of pure sand, riot even a pebble coup
be found. I put my binoculars on the
object and still couldn't make it out
to be anything recognizable. We'd
ne of the great sights in Florida that never fails to excite us is the dive of the
rown pelican. From 70 feet in the air, the pelican spots its prey, then, with
ings folded back, drops into the water with a huge splash. —
lust nave to watx gown tnere, as our
curiosity had taken over.
As we approached this lump, its
shape revealed it to be a huge chow-
der clam. When we got even. closer
and picked it up, all we could say
was; "Wow! Now there's a clam that
beats all clams!” Once again, our
knowledge of Florida's vast natural
resources proved that we had lots to
learn about its wonders.
We have big chowder clams at
home, but none could rival this gi-
ant. But how did it get on this beach'
Back home, gulls and other water
birds dig clams out of the sand by
paddling their webbed feet up and
down until the clam becomes free.
Then the gull carries it to a hard sur-
face such as a rocky beach, a black -
topped drivewav, road, or even some
uvuy s ruui mignt prove satistactory
for breaking open the clam. (Are yoi
with me, Floyd ?)
Of course, the system has worked
well for them for hundreds of years.
They take their prize up about 50 fee
and drop it, breaking the. clam open
and making available the feast inside
it. But this can only be done with
relatively small clams; surely no bird
could carry this monstrous clam. Hov
it got there on that beach, we'll never
know but it was fun speculating abou
it and it made a nice chowder.
This huge clam
(5 1/2 inches wide by
3 1/2 inches deep) was
found on a sandy beach
in Florida. How it got
there we'll never know,
but its size puts it in a
class all its own.