We like to watch pelicans flying up and down the beach from our condo. Unless I have my camera with me, there is no use trying to run inside the condo to grab the camera, turn it on, set the exposure and try to take a photo. They will be too far to photograph.
Fortunately, I had my camera with me when these pelicans flew by in their typical "V" flying formation. Pelicans do not migrate like birds who fly south for the winter, but they can forage long distances, up to 93 miles (150 km) for food.
I think that the pelicans that we have in Costa Rica are brown pelicans, the same species as in Florida or California. We often see them plunge diving into the ocean for food, which is a characteristic of brown pelicans.
Pelicans are ancient creatures, as fossils reveal that they lived as long as 30 million years ago. They were almost wiped out in the USA in the middle of the 20th century, as DDT use caused their egg shells to be too thin to hatch. Thank heavens for Rachel Carson and her groundbreaking book, The Silent Spring, which awoke mankind to the dangers of unregulated pesticide use.
This week we are showing some close up photos of plants and animals of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, on our
Viva la Voyage travel photo site.