Photography of Birds – Set # 258

Set # 258

Brown Pelican

Brown Pelican

Brown Pelican

The Brown Pelican is the national bird of Saint Martin, Barbados, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the official state bird of Louisiana, appearing on the flag, seal, or coat of arms of each. It has been rated as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It was listed under the United States Endangered Species Act from 1970 to 2009, as pesticides such as dieldrin and DDT threatened its future in the Southeastern United States and California. In 1972, the use of DDT was banned in Florida, followed by the rest of the United States. Since then, the brown pelican’s population has increased. In 1903, Theodore Roosevelt set aside the first National Wildlife Refuge, Florida’s Pelican Island, to protect the species from hunters.

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

Notable features of Great Blue Herons include slaty (gray with a slight azure blue) flight feathers, red-brown thighs, and a paired red-brown and black stripe up the flanks; the neck is rusty-gray, with black and white streaking down the front; the head is paler, with a nearly white face, and a pair of black or slate plumes runs from just above the eye to the back of the head. The feathers on the lower neck are long and plume-like; it also has plumes on the lower back at the start of the breeding season. The bill is dull yellowish, becoming orange briefly at the start of the breeding season, and the lower legs are gray, also becoming orangey at the start of the breeding season. Immature birds are duller in color, with a dull blackish-gray crown, and the flank pattern is only weakly defined; they have no plumes, and the bill is dull gray-yellow.
© HJ Ruiz – Avian101
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10 thoughts on “Photography of Birds – Set # 258”

  3. I so enjoyed both lovely photos here, HJ, and the info as well. I’m glad you mentioned the pelican’s challenging background, as many people do not know how close we came in this country to losing this magnificent bird forever.

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    • There were so many things that went wrong in older times not in favor of birds. Such as eating sea birds, slaughtering birds for the feathers to decorate, hats, boas, stoles, etc. and previously the feathers were the pens for every body. . Thank you, my friend. 🙂

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  4. I had no idea the Brown Pelican was the state bird of Louisiana, let alone the national bird of all those other places. I love to see them dive. And you have captured that magnificent low-to-the-water flight they make look so effortless. 😊

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  5. DDT, while useful to combat mosquito-borne diseases, has collected a terrible toll in native wildlife all over the world. I am glad to see it has been banned in the USA. In many places it still hasn’t, although most at least use more environmentally-friendly ways to deploy it. It would have been sad to lose a bird as beautiful as the brown pelican.

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    • Thanks so much for your concern about wildlife. And, yes it would have been terrible to lose those gentle big birds. Thanks again, D. 🙂

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