Oklahoma Coastal Vagrants: Brown Pelican

This thirty million year old bird hasn't changed much according to fossils.  It may appear to have a comical physique and ungainly in its skin, but that could not be further from fact.  This common coastal bird of the east and west coasts is an accomplished fisherman with spectacular plunge dives that many an Olympic swimmer strives to share form.

This unusual diving bird performs twisting lunges in shallow waters of bays, lagoons and oceans.  Coasting just inches above the water, the graceful and elegant flight of the pelican can be mesmerizing.

Like the Bald Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, and other birds, the Brown Pelican was affected by DDT in the late 1960s and early 70s.  The deadly concoction was banned by the EPA in 1972, which gave this beautiful species a chance to return in numbers, through the help of the Endangered Species Act.  At that time it was seriously imperiled, as nest sites are upon the ground or island cliffs. It was released from its endangered status in 2009, not that long in the past.

                                                            Brown Pelican, 2017

Even though this is a bird of salt water, they are known to stray from time to time.  For a ten day period in December of 2016, one Brown Pelican was upon the waters and upon land of Boomer Lake Park in Stillwater, OK.  It has also managed to be in several other locales, usually in key areas of the state during this decade, like Great Salt Plains, Lake Overholser, and others.

Squadrons of this bird can be found in coastal waters, observed relaxing and fishing.  Their most well known feature is the gular pouch, which can hold up to three gallons of water and is strained out before consuming its assorted delicacies.

This is a small bird in comparison to the other seven species of the world, at eight pounds and fifty-one inches in length with a six to seven foot wingspan.  They require four pounds of fish each day and their remarkable eyesight can aid them up to seventy feet in the air before that inevitable dive.

Not only can that pouch scoop up food, but it also is an aid in cooling the bird during the heat of the season.  They will also steal fish from other birds, eat prawn, and seize prey when schools of fish are passing near the water's surface.

As a colonial nester, the state bird of Louisiana can be seen breeding there, as well as on Pelican Island in Florida, which Ding Darling named the first national wildlife refuge.