Near "In-flight Collision" or Pelican Smarts?

Ok..sometimes I worry (most likely needlessly!) about the wildlife that frequent the Bayou!  Most of the time, things flow smoothly and all goes well.  The critters are like a well-oiled machine..they know what they need to do to survive and just do it.  Then there are those that seem to be a bit "out of sync"!   It is at those times that you began to ponder the parenting skills of some critters!  Did Mom and Pop Critter just not take the time to teach their brood the tactics of everyday survival?  Take, for instance, the pelicans.  More times than naught, I have thought that these critters have it all together.  I watch them plummet from the sky and come up with a bill full of mullet.  Yep..those guys are smart!  Most of the time!

While on the pier watching the incoming clouds, I noticed the usual "pouch" of Brown Pelicans as they were fishing along the shore line. (Yes!  A group of pelicans can be called a "pouch"..among other things and considering that you like pelicans.  Otherwise, I guess you might just call them anything you like..this is a family-friendly blog, though so keep it clean!)  They know their business!  They can smack down on the water and always have a catch.  They are just that good.  At times, I never see a fish in sight..but they do!  How in the world they can dive into ten inches of water and not break their poor bodies slap in half is beyond me but as I said..they know their business!  Then there are the American White Pelicans.  Hmmm...what can I say?  These are adept fishermen as well, it is just..well, their flocking abilities that leave a bit to be desired!  I watched about a dozen of these large birds try to form that elusive "V" shape that is so familiar with migrating birds.  Ummm..well...they obviously had not learned their alphabet too well!  At first, some were flying straight while others were in the most awkward stages of flying...up.  Not that they were trying to gain altitude..they were attempting to follow the leader.  It was more like they could not make their wings do what their minds wanted.  It was quite amusing!  After a bit, I thought perhaps the pelicans got their wings in working order because they were at least flying level!

Then...oh, my goodness!  There seemed to be an in-flight collision!  At least from the angle from which I was viewing the antics of the birds.  The pouch of birds had formed more of a squiggle than a "V" but they were all headed in the same direction when all of a sudden, the final five birds got a little too close to each other!  One bird wobbled and that did it!  All five were scattered about in frantic chaos!  There was no regaining their signature squiggle!  The dozen or so birds simply gave up!  All decided on a different route to their final destination..all went their separate ways!  I guess those birds just were never taught a good "V" formation and how important personal space is!

The next group of pelicans seemed to be a bit smarter and kept their flying in a much better order.  It was nice to see that at least there might be some hope for the smarts of the pelicans of the world!  Those others might have just been angry with each other over leadership or perhaps a bit overtired from their journey.  Who knows...but it was a tad fun to watch!