St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
St. Marks, Florida
Nov 2019

Brown pelican by Paul Sager, on Flickr


The brown pelican is now a staple of crowded coastal regions. The brown pelican is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. In the 1993 film The Pelican Brief, based on the novel by John Grisham, a legal brief speculates that the assassins of two supreme court justices were motivated by a desire to drill for oil on a Louisiana marshland, a protected habitat of the brown pelican.

Brown pelican


The brown pelican is a strictly marine species, primarily inhabiting marine subtidal, warm estuarine, and marine pelagic waters. It is also found in mangrove swamps, and prefers shallow waters, especially near salty bays and beaches. It avoids the open sea, seldom venturing more than 20 miles from the coast.

Brown pelican


Digital images shared in this post were captured in RAW using an EOS 5DIII and the EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II along with the Extender EF 2x III. The camera / lens were mounted to a RRS gimbal head and tripod. Processing was performed in Lightroom and noise processing in Topaz DeNoise6.

Brown pelican


The brown pelican lives on the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific Coasts in the Americas. On the Atlantic Coast, it is found from Nova Scotia to the mouth of the Amazon River.

Brown pelican


The brown pelican is a monogamous breeder within a breeding season, but does not pair for life. Nesting season peaks during March and April. The male chooses a nesting site and performs a display of head movements to attract a female.

Brown pelican


These images are sized to fill your wide-screen display. Try using <F11> to maximize your browser window for the full effect. If the images overshoot your display, such as a laptop, just click on the image or the URL link and they'll resize to your screen from the host Flickr site. You can click a bit further into the image details on the Flickr page, if desired. EXIF data is available from the host Flickr pages as well. On the Flickr site, use your <L>key for Large and the <F11> for the full-screen.

If the images are not filling your widescreen display due to recent UHH changes, follow this link and update your UHH profile: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-572300-1.html

St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
St. Marks, Florida
Nov 2019

Brown pelican by Paul Sager, on Flickr


The brown pelican is now a staple of crowded coastal regions. The brown pelican is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. In the 1993 film The Pelican Brief, based on the novel by John Grisham, a legal brief speculates that the assassins of two supreme court justices were motivated by a desire to drill for oil on a Louisiana marshland, a protected habitat of the brown pelican.

Brown pelican


The brown pelican is a strictly marine species, primarily inhabiting marine subtidal, warm estuarine, and marine pelagic waters. It is also found in mangrove swamps, and prefers shallow waters, especially near salty bays and beaches. It avoids the open sea, seldom venturing more than 20 miles from the coast.

Brown pelican


Digital images shared in this post were captured in RAW using an EOS 5DIII and the EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II along with the Extender EF 2x III. The camera / lens were mounted to a RRS gimbal head and tripod. Processing was performed in Lightroom and noise processing in Topaz DeNoise6.

Brown pelican


The brown pelican lives on the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific Coasts in the Americas. On the Atlantic Coast, it is found from Nova Scotia to the mouth of the Amazon River.

Brown pelican


The brown pelican is a monogamous breeder within a breeding season, but does not pair for life. Nesting season peaks during March and April. The male chooses a nesting site and performs a display of head movements to attract a female.

Brown pelican


These images are sized to fill your wide-screen display. Try using <F11> to maximize your browser window for the full effect. If the images overshoot your display, such as a laptop, just click on the image or the URL link and they'll resize to your screen from the host Flickr site. You can click a bit further into the image details on the Flickr page, if desired. EXIF data is available from the host Flickr pages as well. On the Flickr site, use your <L>key for Large and the <F11> for the full-screen.

If the images are not filling your widescreen display due to recent UHH changes, follow this link and update your UHH profile: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-572300-1.html

Truly outstanding photos that clearly demonstrate your technical and composition abilities.

I have spent many hours on the beach observing these birds, their beauty and amazing flight abilities. I am trying to determine if it is just my fading memory; but, when I was young back in the late 40's and early '50's I do not recall seeing them here in NC (at least not in any significant number). I recall being amazed by their numbers when I first started diving in the Florida Keys back in the mid 70's; beginning in the 90's I started noticing them here in larger and larger numbers. Perhaps their increased numbers (as with so many of the birds of prey) is a result of the DDT ban.

Here's looking forward to more photos of Brown Pelicans and more of your excellent captures and narrative.

Paul, your work is superb and your comments are always thoughtful, insightful and well articulated.

So please forgive me for this reply. My family frequently vacationed on the Texas Gulf Coast when I was very young and I first heard this quote from my mother more than 60 years ago. I think about it almost every time I see this bird which is almost daily since I currently live on North Padre Island.

“A wonderful bird is the Pelican.
His beak can hold more than his belly can.
He can hold in his beak
Enough food for a week!
But I'll be darned if I know how the hellican?”

― Dixon Lanier Merritt

To this day I still enjoy taking pictures of both Brown and American White pelican species. Thanks for sharing your wonderful shots.

Bubba