Brown Pelican Grooming

by Bonny Puckett

Title

Brown Pelican Grooming

Artist

Bonny Puckett

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

A brown pelican grooms itself in the harbor at Avalon on Catalina Island, one of the Chsnnel Islands off the southern coast of California.

Brown pelicans can be found all along the coastal waters of the Americas and the Caribbean Islands. The brown pelican is the national bird of Saint Martin, Barbados, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the official state bird of Louisiana. They are one of eight Pelican species found throughout the world.

These birds range along the Pacific Coast as far north as Canada and as far south as Chile and can often be seen at peers and harbors along the coast of California and the Channel Islands, including Catalina, Island.

Brown Pelicans are amazing fishermen that are able to fly at speeds up to 30 mph (48 kph) and dive into the water at steep angles of 60 to 90 degrees from heights up to 65 feet to catch their prey. They scoop up fish in their beaks, which have a large throat pouch that can hold up to 2-3 times more than their stomachs can. When they surface from a dive, they will fly their beaks downward to drain the water from their throat pouch before swallowing the fish.

As mating season approaches, brown pelicans of bedding age will often become more colorful. Artistic techniques were used in the photography and processing of this image to highlight those bold colors and share the true beauty of this amazing bird.

Proud to be featured in the following groups:

Animal Photographs
Experimental Photography
Arte per Passione - Passione per L'arte
Vertical Images
New FAA Uploads
Your Very Best Photography
Bags

Uploaded

July 8th, 2021

Statistics

Viewed 1,821 Times  -  Last Visitor from New York, NY on 04/19/2024 at 12:37 AM

Colors

Embed

Share

Sales Sheet

Tags