Early this morning, Mark took the little skiff out on the Bay for a bit of fishing. I stayed behind on the pier for a bit before heading to do some gardening chores. While on the pier, a thick fog was enshrouding the entire Bay but I did manage to catch a few photos of our resident Brown Pelican. The bird was sitting on a post at my brother's pier not far from ours. The bird was sound asleep! Shhh! Do not wake Old Gus!
It is easy to tell when a Brown Pelican is sleeping merely by observing its position. With the large bill, the bird has to find some way of not toppling forward when dozing. The method that works is to twist the head to one side, tuck the large bill up under a wing and the sit perfectly balanced. Old Gus was in this position at daybreak but when he heard Mark's outboard motor crank he stretched out his neck and settled back into the usual awake perching position. This is with the neck tucked but bill forward. The bird can still rest but can also keep watch on what is happening around him.
The fog obviously had Old Gus a bit drowsy as he made no attempt at leaving his post all the while I was on the pier. He sat and rested. It was about four hours later before he decided to make the effort of getting out of "bed" to catch breakfast. Old Gus was lazy this morning! Shh...he is sleeping!
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