White on White

What a beautiful day it was today! The sun was brilliant, the water flat and calm, and the temperature was just right!

A ride down East Beach in Ocean Springs proved fruitful! At low tide this afternoon, many shorebirds were feeding - willets and blue herons among them. At a distance from shore at low tide a sand bar appears and is a popular spot for the birds. Today, even without binoculars, we could tell some visitors were present along with the usual crew of brown pelicans and sea gulls. There they were, as white as snow, sunning on the exposed white sand - a group of white pelicans! What a delight it is to see these birds when they visit. They are much larger than their cousins, the brown pelicans, and have different feeding methods. Brown pelicans typically range in size from 45 inches to 54 inches. White pelicans, though, range from 55 inches to about 70 inches, a sizable difference and noticeable even from a great distance. White pelicans feed in groups, splashing the water with their wings to drive fish into a position where the birds can duck their heads underwater and make a catch. Brown pelicans, on the other hand, dive head-first into the water from flight when a fish is spotted. Each is beautiful in its own right, but as the white pelicans are less common here, it is always a joy to spot them as they make their way through, and stop to take a rest.