Flight of the pelican

During my 2010 trip to Florida I was invited by my uncle to join them on a deep sea fishing trip. Due to sea sickness my only catch of the day was a photo series of pelicans. I’ve completed the final touches on my pictures and finally decided to write up on this maritime avian.

When first seeing a pelican waddle around on the fishing docks, the first impression someone might have is of an ugly and ungraceful species but the real beauty of this bird is in its flight and diving ability.

I’ve observed the pelican following the wake of our fishing boat and taking the updraft to allow it to glide inches over the water surface. Take note of the wing tips bent 90 degrees downward that allow the skimming flight pattern. When observing this bird, you can see where the inspiration was taken to design some of the nautical planes we have today.

Pelican facts.

Pelicans are social birds and often found near fishing ports.

There are eight different species of pelicans found on every continent in the world with the exception of the Antarctic.

There are eight pelican species – Brown Pelican, Peruvian Pelican, American White Pelican, Great White Pelican, Dalmatian Pelican, Pink-backed Pelican, Spot-billed Pelican and Australian Pelican.

Certain species of pelicans can have a wingspan of up to 3 meters.

A pelican can hold up to 11 ½ liters (3 gallons) of water in its bill.

I’m sorry the fishing trip had to be cut short due to my illness but I did have my catch of the day. I hope you enjoy this series of pictures on the pelican.

Alain G. Pratte

Summer 2009 Slideshow

Working on getting this site up trying new plugins.   Wrapping my head around the designing of this site is a nightmare but I’m slowly getting there.  Here’s a little slideshow of some summer pictures I shot.