White pelicans
White pelicans are huge birds with a definite pterodactyl air about them, but can be very graceful in soaring flight. I photographed these pelicans at Bolsa Chica wetlands on the coast of Orange County, California and along the Texas coast near Corpus Cristi (upper right). The Texas bird is showing the bright bill color and strange 'crest' on the upper mandible that develop during the breeding season. The birds in some of the images are fishing, which they often do in coordinated groups. Another picture shows two birds dozing just before sunrise.
Images copyright by Mark A. Chappell
