White Pelican Magnificence

White Pelicans are such magnificent birds. There are quite a few here now in Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel, FL, where they spend the winter, just like the "snowbird" human winter residents of the island.

Preening is a big part of their job, gotta keep those beautiful feathers in shape.

After they feed as a group, herding the fish, then scooping them up in their bills. Then they swim or fly and splash down, over to their sand bar, where they rest up. Come spring they migrate to their breeding areas in the western areas of the U. S. and Canada such as MT, ID, UT, WY, etc. Their relatives, the Brown Pelicans, live in southern coastal areas all year, and feed by diving headfirst into the water to catch a fish.
Canon SX 40 HS photos.