Hop, Skip and a Jump!

For the past few weeks, there has been quite a goodly number of waterfowl visiting around the Bayou. Many migrated here to spend their winter months because of the plentiful foodstuffs in the Bay. This area is teeming with mullet and menhaden..both of which are easy pickings for the birds. I was particularly interested in the mass of Brown Pelicans that seem to be calling the local piers their new roosting spots. On any given day, ten to twenty of these large birds can be seen atop the posts either sunning or snoozing.

While on the pier, I was watching several of them plunge-dive after the mullet. They would fly to quite a elevation and then come plummeting to the water. SPLASH! The impact of such a large bird sent water droplets shooting ten feet high in some instances. Invariably, though, the Brown Pelican would bob back out of the water with a mouth full of some type fish. His head would tilt skyward, water would drain from the sides of his mouth and down the fish would slide into his gullet! As amazing as these actions were, I was more intrigued by their flying or at least at their attempts of becoming airborne.

Even if these Pelicans do not give the appearance of being too graceful, their "take-offs" are extremely adept. Once in the air, they are amazingly agile but that hop, skip and a jump starting action is rather humorous! Although they look to be cumbersome, the pelican actually has this start-flight thing down to a science! These are the only water-birds that can take flight with as short of "runway" as a few hops. Most other birds need a good twenty to forty "water-steps" before they are fully airborne. The pelican...a mere three to four and he is up and at 'em! Another feat of the pelican is the ease that they can fly for long distances just mere inches above the water.

Something that always tickles me when I observe the Brown Pelicans is how almost "prehistoric" they appear. They really cannot be classified as a "pretty" bird compared to some of the brilliantly colored songbirds, but I find them rather beautiful in their own right. Their heads at times seem to be far out of proportion for their bodies and their massive wingspan and short legs do not seem to match! Still there is something endearing about all pelicans!

I watched for some time, just enjoying the company of the Brown Pelicans, a single White Pelican, an one-eyed Grebe and my friend the Night Heron. I love my Bayou!