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<\/p>\nThis poor\u00a0pelican just couldn’t make up its mind.<\/p>\n
Two days ago while driving the auto tour loop at Bear River MBR I came upon a group of American White Pelicans on the west side of the loop.\u00a0They had good light on them but they were on the right side of my pickup so I couldn’t photograph them out my driver’s side window and if I tried to turn around on the narrow road I would probably spook them. So I used my only\u00a0practical option and\u00a0quickly stopped on the road and got out of my pickup to photograph them over the bed of my truck.<\/p>\n
I knew I was too close for flight shots\u00a0with my 500mm lens with teleconverter so I grabbed what I call my “baby lens” with a spare camera attached and went for the gusto. I had little time to adjust my settings so all I did was check my exposure and fire away with fingers\u00a0crossed.<\/p>\n
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1\/5000, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f\/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @ 321mm, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n The pelicans were spread loosely on the bank of the canal\u00a0so I had to choose one of them to focus on\u00a0and this one caught my attention when it yawned. It’s possible it was in the process of beginning to stretch its pouch (something pelicans often do) because it did open its bill wider than this but I believe it was just yawning. The horny caruncle on top of its upper mandible appears to be damaged (normally its shape is a half-circle)\u00a0and the\u00a0patches of black we see in this photo and others are remnants of phragmites burns from last fall.<\/p>\n When\u00a0I see a pelican with its bill open and showing off more of its huge pouch than we usually see\u00a0I often think of the\u00a0this delightful poetic ditty. I’ll bet some of my readers do the same.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After the yawn there was another pelican in front of this one that I focused on but when this bird started to take off…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/5000, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f\/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @ 321mm, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n I quickly swung my lens to my left to photograph it as it lifted off. This was my first\u00a0shot of the bird which was already in its second wing-stroke of takeoff. It’s probably my favorite\u00a0pelican photo from yesterday and initially it was my intention to post it as a stand-alone but in the end I thought the indecisiveness of this bird made for an interesting story so I decided to tell it with a series of photos.<\/p>\n By now the pelican out of frame to the right was also taking off in the same direction.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/5000, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 100-400mm f\/4.5-5.6L IS II USM @ 321mm, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n In the next frame the pelican already seemed undecided about its decision to leave and two frames later…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
\nHis beak can hold more than his belly can.<\/em>
\nHe can hold in his beak<\/em>
\nEnough food for a week!<\/em>
\nBut I’ll be darned if I know how the hellican?\u201d<\/em>
\n\u2015 Dixon Lanier Merritt<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/american-white-pelican-1710-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"american-white-pelican-1710-ron-dudley\\"")
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