An Evening with White Pelicans
Every winter, my wife and I try our best to make a trip to Florida to spend some time with my family. My parents stay there for the winter in the town of Sebastian where my sister lives. They have a lovely RV right on the Indian River and on any given evening you can walk down and sit on one of the benches on a dock out in the water and watch countless birds fly by.
The common suspects are always there, Laughing Gulls fly overhead, while Double Crested Cormorants and the occasional Anhinga fish in the shallow waters right off the dock. The stars of the bird show are always the clumsy looking yet somehow elegant flying Brown Pelicans riding the air currents only inches over the surface of the water. As a bird watcher and nature photographer it can be a paradise.
One evening, during my trip down in February 2014 my wife, mother and sister had gone out for the evening and after a short stint on the dock with my father I decided to make the short drive north along the Indian River to see if I could find one of the American White Pelicans which are less common to that area.
A few years prior, I had visited the same fish market dock I was heading to on this evening but it had been earlier in the day and I had not spent much time there.
The White Pelicans are known to congregate at this dock for good reason, during business hours they feast on the fish scraps and being the largest birds in the area they rule the roost. As I approached the shoreline, I could see a nice group of about twenty big beautiful White Pelicans. It was my lucky evening.
As I always tend to do the first photos were a bit farther away than I would have liked but I just wanted to get some photos before they (possibly) flew away.
There was nobody else at the market and for the time being I had them all to myself. The sun was still a little high in the sky, a little before 5pm. The pelicans didn’t seem to mind my presence so I moved in to the edge of the bulk-head and got comfortable.
From my position along the side of the fish market I noticed a car pull up and a couple got out and walked out right on the dock where most of the birds where sitting. None of the pelicans flew away so I figured I would head over to the same spot to see if I could get a little closer.
As I walked up to the dock, I was initially surprised how close these pelicans where allowing us to get without showing any signs of agitation. I introduced myself to the couple who had come there just to see these beautiful birds and were enjoying the view as much as I was. I laid down on the dock, which was elevated about 3-4 feet above the surface of the water, and started taking photo after photo. I was concentrating on the group of birds sitting on the dock since I was eye level with them and the light was working out really well in that direction.
I noticed that the majority of the shoreline had a 4 foot bulk-head along it which meant I didn’t have a spot to get down water level. Thankfully off to my left there was one little spot that had a rocky beach, it was just enough for me to get down water level. The pelicans where quite comfortable with the three of us being there at this point so I decided to slowly crawl down to the small rocky beach. As I climbed down and got closer to the water’s edge the White Pelicans began to get a bit edgy.
I made it to the edge of the water without frightening away any of the birds but they sure had their eye on me. A few of the birds that were already swimming had moved out just a bit, but they were slowly working their way back to me and the group sitting on the dock were stretching their necks out getting a good look at me.
With the small beach being so rocky there was nowhere for me to lay down and get comfortable so I didn’t last too long down there and slowly worked my way back up to the dock. By this point the sun was getting a bit lower in the sky and started to get really nice. The shadow from the fish market behind me also helped to create some different lighting for a few of the photos.
At one point I was photographing a close up portrait of a particular pelican when the couple behind me mentioned that another pelican was flying in. Thanks to them I was able to get my lens on this incoming bird and photograph the entire sequence of it flying right towards me and landing just off the dock.
The light was beautiful and I got a great sequence.
After a while, it was just me and the pelicans.
They became so used to me that they started to preen and interact with each other a bit more which is always fun to watch. I love when you can be so close to wildlife and feel as though they have accepted that you are not a threat and they start behaving normally. After a while laying on the dock I noticed that the water was actually quite shallow under me. Thanks to the warm Florida weather I decided to kick off my sandals and into the water I went.
Again the group of White Pelicans got a little edgy but as before they soon settled down once I was in the water for a few minutes. The water was about half way up my shin so there was no way for me to squat down without getting my shorts completely wet. I did my best to bend over and hover the camera just above the surface, all while trying to properly frame and focus on the pelicans in the water.
By now the sun had really lowered in the sky and the lighting just continued to get better and better. The pelicans where swimming all around me so I was able to get a bunch of different angles and groups. The hardest part was actually trying to photograph one alone as they tend to stay in small groups.
After about 10-minutes of performing this balancing act, my back and neck couldn’t take much more so I slowly climbed back up onto the dock. At this point I guess it was time for the pelicans to head to their roost for the night and one by one they began to take off right in front of me.
The sight of these fifteen pound giants with up to a nine foot wingspan taking off in the evening light was so incredible. At first it seems that they were going to jump off the dock and just fall into the water, but with a few powerful flaps they were airborne and on their way.
I stayed until the last of the flock took off and I watched them fly out to an island in the middle of the Indian River and all gather together where I assume they spent the night.
Right before I left I noticed a Brown Pelican flying in towards me and it was definitely interested in something in the water. It landed in the water and not a moment later a dolphin exploded from the water, chasing fish, which the pelican was hoping to get in on. Unfortunately, I missed focus on the dolphin and fish so I don’t have that photo to share but it was a wonderful ending to my evening spent with the group of magnificent American White Pelicans.
Just another amazing day in the little town of Sebastian Florida.
Ray Hennessy is a professional wedding and portrait photographer based in Clementon, NJ. Previously on Vantage, Ray has written about photographing snow geese, capturing birds on the wing, his morning with a red fox, incredible feeder flash photos, birds all at sea, and tiny critters.
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