NEST CAMS!

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has a beautiful new website, and one new feature is the web cam page...you can watch birds hatching.  Click here to go to the page 

Pelicans on Easter morning

It must be Spring! A flock of American White Pelicans flew over the meadow this morning, in a slow rhythm of flapping and gliding, almost as if in slow motion.  They are very large and graceful - a majestic sight.  From on top of the river bluffs, I have seen flocks of them ride rising air currents to great heights, soaring slowly and gracefully in circles. They are more buoyant than Brown Pelicans and do not dive for their food. They cooperate to surround fish in shallow water, scooping them into their pouches. They take in both water and fish, and then hold their bills vertically to drain out the water before swallowing. Because of pesticides, human disturbance, and the draining of wetlands, this species was in decline, but is slowly coming back.