Pelican sketches

Here are a few simple thumbnails of these big birds I was looking for.  They were getting ready for a night in the wild!  Out in the middle of a shallow pond they were mostly tucked in like the middle ones, but one looked like he was still standing guard. There were only a handful by this time, not the hundred or so I had seen a couple weeks before. They had been coming in for landing 15 or 20 at a time with there landing gear down to ski across the pond.  By now however, it was late October. It is interesting comparing these whites to the browns in east Florida. These whites prefer shallow water in which they feed while sitting or standing often in large groups, at least during migration. The browns of the coastal areas are everywhere. The search for food out maybe just past the serf  by flying along and diving into the water to catch fish in their bill.  Then they will lift off directly from the water, unlike the whites who take much more effort to get airborne...