In our neck of the woods... White Pelicans

On a recent hike to the nearest cove of the lake, I photographed a pair of white pelicans swimming about and hunting for fish.

White pelicans don't breed in Missouri, but they pass through in the spring on their way to their breeding grounds in the northern US and Canada, and again in the fall as they move to their wintering grounds in the southern US and Mexico. They often take a resting break from their migration, and we sometimes see hundreds of them at a time.

White pelicans are one of the largest birds seen in Missouri, weighing up to twenty pounds. Astoundingly, their wings stretch nine feet from wingtip to wingtip.

In the spring, as breeding time approaches, adults grow a vertical flat plate on the top of their bill (look closely at the two birds in the first photo, and the second photo shows the plate more clearly). They use these plates for courtship and in conflicts to establish their territories. Interestingly, after the eggs are laid, the adults lose these plates. So, the pelicans we see migrating south in the fall do not have these plates.

A very strange bird is the pelican.
His beak can hold more than his belly can.
He can hold in his beak
Enough food for a week.
And I'm damned if I know how the hell he can.

Photo credit:
White pelicans - Stan C. Smith