Brown Pelican

I spent most afternoons while in Cuba out sailing the Hobiecats. However, after sailing I would spend time watching the Brown Pelicans fish and thought I’d post a couple of my favourite dive images.

The Brown Pelican is a comically elegant bird with an oversized bill, sinuous neck, and big, dark body. Squadrons glide above the surf along southern and western coasts, rising and falling in a graceful echo of the waves.

They feed by plunge-diving from high up, using the force of impact to stun small fish before scooping them up. They are fairly common today—an excellent example of a species’ recovery from pesticide pollution that once placed them at the brink of extinction. Cornell All About Birds