Tag: american white pelican

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American White Pelican

An american white pelican stands alone atop a small island in a pond.
An american white pelican stands alone atop a small island in a pond.

I’ve featured the American White Pelican in my blog before, and given their beauty and grace, I’ll likely feature them again. Of the two pelican species in the Bay Area (the other is the California Brown Pelican), this is by far my favorite. Both regal and elegant, these pelicans create an air of significance with every sighting.

An american white pelican stretches its neck forward, elongating its beak and pouch.
An american white pelican stretches its neck forward, elongating its beak and pouch.

I found one recently on a small island in shallow water, close to my location. These were perfect conditions for portrait shots – the full body standing on ground, the background very distant (so as to create a smooth out of focus area) and devoid of other birds. This allowed for a clean, simple portrait – something I’m often striving for with my bird photography.

A white pelican perches on an underwater stump in the middle of a slough, Byxbee Park, Palo Alto, CA
A white pelican perches on an underwater stump in the middle of a slough, Byxbee Park, Palo Alto, CA

Portraits can be captured on water as well, but when the pelicans are on land, I am usually rewarded with more interesting grooming shots. However, after a pelican dives, you are sometimes lucky enough to see a wild head throw, usually to whip water off of its head feathers.

Perched on an underwater stump, an american white pelican throws its head into the air, twisting it back and forth
Perched on an underwater stump, an american white pelican throws its head into the air, twisting it back and forth

When I think one of these throws in imminent, I make sure I re-frame to include plenty of sky. This way I can capture the entire action at its peak – I’ve been burned too often with a great head throw, but half the top of the head getting clipped out of frame.

Whenever I’m out doing bird photography, I look for clean portrait opportunities. But when I get one with an American White Pelican, I feel extra lucky.

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Black And White Challenge

Two weeks ago I was challenged by friend and photographer Jerry Dodrill to post 5 black and white photographs on social media over 5 consecutive days. As I am not known for shooting much black and white, I dug back into my archives to see what I had. From that selection, I chose five photos from a variety of subject matter (landscape, wildlife, and architecture) that spoke to me more as fine art than editorial photos. Here is my selection collected together, along with a short synopsis of each.

Day One

Dawn breaks over Banner Peak and Thousand Island Lake, Ansel Adams Wilderness
Dawn breaks over Banner Peak and Thousand Island Lake, Ansel Adams Wilderness

I shot this last year on my attempt at the John Muir Trail. Thousand Island Lake is a beautiful location in the heart of the Ansel Adams Wilderness. This was a dark, moody, stormy morning, and during a brief pause in the torrential downpour, I braved the elements and scrambled out of my tent to capture Banner Peak with the lake below. In order to convey my feelings at the time I shot it, it seemed like a perfect candidate for a B&W conversion.

Day Two

Death Valley's Mesquite Dunes are a study of form and lines
Death Valley’s Mesquite Dunes are a study of form and lines

This shot is of the Mesquite Dunes outside of Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley National Park. I shot this fairly wide (21mm) as I was standing on the foreground dune. Those who have photographed a lot of sand know that you can’t just back up to reshoot – you’ll end up with a photo full of footprints! Black and white allowed me to add contrast into the sand ripples along the crest of the dune.

Day Three

Four american white pelicans line up, all of them fishing at the same time. There was a nice symmetry to this image, which was calling very strongly to be rendered as a black and white fine art photograph.
Four american white pelicans line up, all of them fishing at the same time. There was a nice symmetry to this image, which was calling very strongly to be rendered as a black and white fine art photograph.

With this photo, I’m switching focus to birds (hey, birds can make great B&W too!) I was shooting a group of American White Pelicans and was waiting for that perfect, synergistic moment. Finally they all ducked down for fish at the same time (the white pelicans tend to be much lazier when eating as compared to the California Browns who are constantly dive bombing their food). I caught the moment and new it would make a nice pano crop – a conversion to a high-key black and white was icing on the cake.

Day Four

Church and cemetery, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Church and cemetery, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

This image is a little different from my usual fare. Quite a few years ago, a friend and I were hiking through the woods of Great Smokey Mountain National Park. It was a still, crisp November day, and we were utterly alone with the trees. Throughout the day, we had been getting a very creepy vibe. Unlike the wilderness of the west, these forests are littered with remnants of past civilizations – small mountain villages linked to other settlements only via walking paths. It almost felt like the ghosts of the past were watching our progress through their woods. Suddenly our trail opened up into a clearing with an old church, complete with cemetery and 100+ year old headstones. When I took this photograph, I knew I wanted to try to convey that feeling that we’d been getting all day. A black and white, high contrast conversion was in order.

Day Five

Soft light across the dunes adds a milky texture to the wind carved lines, Death Valley National Park
Soft light across the dunes adds a milky texture to the wind carved lines, Death Valley National Park

My final shot is another B&W dune photo from Death Valley. This time I kept the contrast and the clarity low, to emphasize the soft buttery texture of twilight. What first attracted me to this spot was the three tall dunes in the background. I think they reminded me of pyramids off in the distance. I set about looking for a foreground. When I found layer upon layer of sand “waves” stacked up in front of the dunes, I knew I had my shot. I fell in love with the way the light moved across the sand like it was a living thing. In order to remove all other distractions from the photo, I subtracted all color and let the interplay between the shadows and highlights define the photograph.

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Pelican Palooza

Several american white pelicans swim together, alternately dipping their heads under water to pull up a bill full of fish
Several american white pelicans swim together, alternately dipping their heads under water to pull up a bill full of fish

I stopped at one of my local spots to photograph birds and was rewarded with an abundance of not only one pelican species, but both species that are regularly seen in California – the American White Pelican and the Brown Pelican. Usually I don’t see both in one area, but here they were at Shoreline Park in Mountain View, each doing their own thing.

First, I saw a half dozen white pelicans swimming together, and fishing simply by dunking their heads underwater and scooping up great billfuls of water. In this way, they were able to catch small fish, but on a fairly regular basis.

A fish attempt to flee the confines of an american white pelican's bill.
A fish attempt to flee the confines of an american white pelican’s bill.

Most of the time, at least one pelican would remain above water while the rest would go for fish. They would rotate this way, dunking, scooping and eating. At some points however, I saw all pelicans in the group go under at the same time. I waited to see if I could get them lined up, and finally I saw a moment of symmetry in order to capture this photo.

Four american white pelicans line up, all of them fishing at the same time. There was a nice symmetry to this image, which was calling very strongly to be rendered as a black and white fine art photograph.
Four american white pelicans line up, all of them fishing at the same time. There was a nice symmetry to this image, which was calling very strongly to be rendered as a black and white fine art photograph.

Next it was on to the brown pelicans, who were circling above Shoreline Lake, and going through much more effort to fish. A pelican would circle for a while, keeping a close view of the surface of the water.

A brown pelican circles through the air above a lake, looking for fish to dive for
A brown pelican circles through the air above a lake, looking for fish to dive for

When it saw a movement of fish in the lake below, it would stop its forward flight and sort of hover in air.

A brown pelican circles through the air above a lake, looking for fish to dive for
A brown pelican circles through the air above a lake, looking for fish to dive for

At this point, it would plummet to the water surface in a dive, completely submerging its entire body underwater. The success rate of fishing this way seemed lower than the white pelicans, but perhaps when the diving did work, it rewarded them with bigger fish. It was fine by me, because their activity rewarded me with many flight shots and photographs of the birds on the surface of the water.

A brown pelican flies low and flat over the surface of the water after it takes off from the surface
A brown pelican flies low and flat over the surface of the water after it takes off from the surface

After a dive, the pelican would drain its bill of water, and swallowing any fish it caught. Occasionally, I was rewarded with a vigorous head throw.

After diving for fish, a brow pelican dries its feathers with a vigorous head throw.
After diving for fish, a brow pelican dries its feathers with a vigorous head throw.

After a couple of hours of shooting, I was pretty pelican’ed out and I packed up to leave. But it was great to see both species side by side on a single morning.

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American White Pelican

An american white pelican stands on one foot on the shore of a lake
An american white pelican stands on one foot on the shore of a lake

There is a large pond near my house that attracts American White Pelicans at various times of year, sometimes in large numbers. I’ve seen as many as 30 pelicans congregated along the shore, preening and snoozing. I came across this solitary pelican late last year. As it was getting close to winter, this pelican didn’t have the typical “horn” that grows from the top of the bill during breeding season.

An american white pelican spreads its wings and shuffles along an island in the middle of a lake
An american white pelican spreads its wings and shuffles along an island in the middle of a lake

These photos were shot from the shore, with the setting sun behind me. The pelican had set up shop on a small island in the middle of the pond. One of the difficulties I encountered was separating the pelican from all the activity around it. Also on this island were many gulls (one can be seen in each photo), double-crested cormorants, black-necked stilts, and several sandpiper species. Needless to say, it was a pretty crowded place. I managed to get a few portraits that I liked, but frustratingly, some of the pelican’s best poses occurred while an ignorant interloper plodded by in the foreground. Such is nature photography. If I wanted complete control, I’d take up studio portrait photography!

Copyright 2017 Hank Christensen