{"id":143037,"date":"2023-09-17T06:52:19","date_gmt":"2023-09-17T12:52:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=143037"},"modified":"2023-09-17T07:30:39","modified_gmt":"2023-09-17T13:30:39","slug":"why-im-now-photographing-pelicans-every-chance-i-get","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2023\/09\/17\/why-im-now-photographing-pelicans-every-chance-i-get\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I’m Now Photographing Pelicans Every Chance I Get"},"content":{"rendered":"

In years past I didn’t always take advantage of photo ops with American White Pelicans.<\/p>\n

After all, they’re often not doing much of anything interesting, spending much of their time floating lazily on the water or basking on the shore and when they’re in flight they’re often gliding, which typically doesn’t provide much in the way of interesting wing positions. How many photos do I need of pelicans in flight with plain blue sky in the background?<\/p>\n

But this year is different. When I see pelicans I nearly always scope them out with my lens and I usually take at least some photos to document the occasion. Following are five of my recent pelican photos.<\/p>\n

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This one had aquatic vegetation draped across its upper back. I didn’t even notice it until I looked at my photos at home. Not long ago I posted another photo of this bird but this one is new to Feathered Photography.<\/p>\n

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This pelican is about to swallow something it had just caught, probably one or more small fish.<\/p>\n

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Another one, swallowing its catch. If I can get the exposure right, I’m a sucker for white birds against dark backgrounds.<\/p>\n

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I’m less fond of plain blue skies as backgrounds but at least the pelican isn’t just gliding.<\/p>\n

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Even though it’s a little tight I quite like this photo, taken two days ago along the causeway to Antelope Island. For me, getting two pelicans out of the water, on an interesting perch and in contrasting poses, doesn’t happen every day. Especially when both very large birds are sharp.<\/p>\n

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I’m taking more pelican photos than usual because after this year I may not have many chances with them.<\/p>\n

Great Salt Lake’s Gunnison Island is one of the top two or three breeding sites of American White Pelicans in North America. As many as 20,000 breeding pelicans nest on the island because, as an island, it’s always been protected from predators, scavengers and human disturbance.<\/p>\n

At this point I suggest that you open this link<\/a><\/span><\/span> to a high-quality aerial photo of pelicans nesting on Gunnison Island. Each small white dot you see on the shore and further up the cove is a nesting pelican\u00a0(or two).\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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But this year, because of the disappearing Great Salt Lake, Gunnison Island is no longer an island. It’s connected to the mainland by land bridges which have allowed predators like coyotes and foxes, and even some law-breaking humans, access to the former “island”. As a result, pelicans have completely abandoned the island as a nesting site. This year not a single pair of pelicans nested on Gunnison Island<\/em>.<\/p>\n

We can only guess what will happen next year. Will the pelicans go two years in a row without nesting? Or will they even come back, preferring to take their chances elsewhere?<\/p>\n

So that’s why I’m photographing pelicans more often than usual. Largely because Utah refuses to control its lustful gluttony for water.<\/p>\n

Ron<\/p>\n

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PS – If you’re interested, here’s a couple of links providing more info.<\/p>\n