White Pelicans, a Helpful Tip

One morning while shooting alone at Lake Parker I was busy photographing some White Ibis in a feeder creek. A gentleman out for his morning stroll stopped to tell me that a beautiful flock of White Pelicans was feeding in the channel out from the mouth of the creek.

The pelicans exhibited a considerable degree of teamwork. The flock would spread out in line of battle, shoulder to shoulder and begin swimming. As they moved forward the pelicans on the ends would begin to move ahead of those in the center until suddenly they would pivot inward forming a circle. Once the circle was formed all heads would go down shoveling up the encircled fish. After a few moments spent swallowing the catch they would once again repeat the exercise.

Thanks to a kindly tip from a complete stranger my morning was much more productive than it otherwise would have been.