Big Bird Watching

This time of the late summer is usually a slow time for our Bird Watching hobby. Not much happens until mid October when the flocks of geese start arriving accompanied by the eagles. The Turkey Vultures and Osprey will be leaving soon, to be replaced by all of the winter birds.

In the first week of September Ron & I had an errand to run in Dallas, Oregon which is about 10 miles West of Salem. We decided to take a quick drive through Basket Slough Sanctuary and were so well rewarded!

Just as we drove up to the pond we visit so often, we noticed white birds on the far side. I said "Probably Great Egrets" when they started to lift off the pond and fly directly over us. You can imagine our surprise when we saw the magnificent White Pelicans lifting off one after another and starting their circling approach to the thermal updrafts that would lift them so high they were merely dots in the sky!

American White Pelican's with a wing span or up to 110 inches migrate in long lines in V-formation and often soars to great heights. They fish by wading or swimming in shallows, often in flocks, scooping up fish with their large bills. Unlike the Brown Pelican's that frequent the Pacific Coast with a wing span of 90 inches, the White Pelican does not dive to feed. The smaller but equally magnificent Brown can be seen diving from heights of 30 feet for small fish along the coast. The fly in big flocks close to the waves "herding" the fish into schools, then take turns diving for their prey.
Click on Pictures to Enlarge your view.

Brown Pelican's near Lincoln City in October of 2008
It seemed amazing that the moment we arrived at the pond the White Pelican's began their flight. Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed the experience!