Featured Photo:  Tom Blagden, Jr.

Yesterday evening as we were bathing the kids and getting ready for their bedtimes, no less that 150 White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) landed in front of our house on the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW).  Looking out across the salt marsh with Bulls Island in the distance made it look like a scene from a National Geographic program.  I told Chris that with the golden light and the shocking size of these bright white birds (they have a 9′ wingspan!), it was as if we were looking out over a wild African landscape.

They only stayed a minute before they took off in staggered groups and continued moving south.

It reminded me of a letter that John Bachman, a Charleston naturalist, wrote to his contemporary and friend John J. Audubon.

In the 30 years that Chris has been leading tours in Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge and to Bulls Island, he has never seen them nest on any of the rookery islands- or anywhere.  They migrate to the upper midwest and Canada to breed if you can believe it.

What we have noticed is that we are seeing a lot more White Pelicans lately.  Five or six years ago we would see a small flock of about 25-30 hanging out at the north end of the refuge.  Now, we get reports all winter of people seeing them along the barrier islands like Bulls, Dewees and St. Phillips.  But if you look at the range maps, the South Carolina coast isn’t part of their migration route.  Why are they coming here?  It’s probably a combination of climate change and habitat destruction.

If you ever get a chance to see them, go.  They are surprisingly beautiful.  If you’ve seen Audubon’s illustration of the American White Pelican, you know that he felt the same way.  Here’s how he describes the species:

His illustration of the American White Pelican (Plate 311) is more dramatic than most of his plates in Birds of America with a dark background and the bird taking up the entirety of the page.  (He drew the birds in his Elephant Folios at full-scale, including the American Flamingo, with its neck curved dramatically back to the ground to fit the page.)

This majestic bird (yes, majestic) has us completely enamored.

A Coastal Expeditions friend sent us some photos from his last trip to Bulls that included a great shot of a White Pelican in flight, with its black wing tips feathered up a the ends, extended gracefully like a ballerina’s fingers.   On its beak was a noticeable bump.  Of the eight pelican species worldwide, White Pelicans are the only species that have this characteristic (Audubon included it in his illustration).

This bump grows during the mating season on males and females.  Once the eggs are laid, the bump falls off.  Made of a “fibrous epidermal plate,” these shed “horns” can be found scattered next to their nests.

Unlike our local Brown Pelicans, the American White Pelican isn’t a sky diver.  They scoop up fish by dipping their large beak and pouch into the water.   They’ll often work as a team, herding fish into shallow areas.

If you want to go see these birds, now is the time.  Get some friends together and charter a birding trip with Chris or Nick to go find this incredible flock that has made Cape Romain its winter home.