To add to my description from yesterday about the pelican entangled in a plastic bag, here is another view of the brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) entangled in a plastic grocery bag. I did consider making a grab for the bird (gently of course), hoping I could restrain it long enough to pluck the bag off its neck, but the pelican’s location on the bluffs made it nearly impossible to reach.
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A California brown pelican entangled in a plastic bag which is wrapped around its neck. This unfortunate pelican probably became entangled in the bag by mistaking the floating plastic for food and diving on it, spearing it in such a way that the bag has lodged around the pelican’s neck. Plastic bags kill and injure untold numbers of marine animals each year. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 22561
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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See more brown pelican photos as well as our Guide to Photographing Pelicans in La Jolla.
Discarded plastics and styrofoam are destroying our environment. They wreak havoc especially hard on marine wildlife. I recently came across a textbook example of how such trash can injure and kill in the form of this unfortunate brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) which is entangled in what appears to be a plastic bag. I am reasonably certain it is the lightweight sort normally used at grocery stores. I have a good idea of how this predicament came to pass. Plastic bags blow in the wind until they reach the ocean, at which point they float. As these translucent bags drift along on ocean currents, they look like food to many marine animals. Pelicans typically dive from high in the air onto the prey, piercing the water like a spear. I think this pelican saw the plastic bag as it was foraging over the ocean, thought that the bag was some form of food, made a dive into the water and speared the bag with its beak. The pressure of the pelican driving into the water pushed the bag over the head and down the neck of the pelican, were it now sits like a deadly necklace. It appears that the pelican has, during its preening, bitten away quite a bit of the bag, and hopefully will make enough further progress on the bag that it eventually breaks free and the pelican is liberated. (I have a few other photos of marine animal entanglement, including a sea lion with monofiliment fishing line wrapped around its neck.)
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A California brown pelican entangled in a plastic bag which is wrapped around its neck. This unfortunate pelican probably became entangled in the bag by mistaking the floating plastic for food and diving on it, spearing it in such a way that the bag has lodged around the pelican’s neck. Plastic bags kill and injure untold numbers of marine animals each year. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 22562
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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See more brown pelican photos as well as our Guide to Photographing Pelicans in La Jolla.
I went down to La Jolla this morning to see how many brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) are there. (The California race of brown pelicans has been experiencing a mysterious malady this year, with many pelicans being found weak and disoriented far away from their usual habitat.) I had not been down there since December. The plumage colors on the birds were much more vivid than I saw on my last visit in December, but there were very few pelicans flying about. Given that flight photo opportunities were hard to come by, I concentrated on portraits.
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Brown pelican preening, cleaning its feathers after foraging on the ocean, with distinctive winter breeding plumage with distinctive dark brown nape, yellow head feathers and red gular throat pouch. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 22527
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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Brown pelican portrait, displaying winter breeding plumage with distinctive dark brown nape, yellow head feathers and red gular throat pouch. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 22529
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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Brown pelican portrait, displaying winter breeding plumage with distinctive dark brown nape, yellow head feathers and red gular throat pouch. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 22532
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 22542
Species: Larus occidentalis
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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See our Guide to Photographing Pelicans in La Jolla.
See more brown pelican photos.
When I first viewed the shots from the day this was taken, I nearly tossed this one. “Sick and ugly” I thought. However, Skip said he thought it was the best shot of that day. I still think it is rather hard on the eyes, but I’ll hold on to it for it’s humor and/or behavioral potential.
When I look at this shot I am reminded of my dentist saying “open wide.” Fortunately — for you — I will not be presenting the obvious followup photo to this one, i.e., the one reminiscent of my doctor asking me to “cough.”
I went down to La Jolla last week to check out the brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus). There is a fence blocking access to the cliffs now, which is unfortunate and a real shame. When I was going to UCSD (many years ago) we would leap into the ocean from these same cliffs. Alas, no longer, thanks to politicians and/or lawyers who have decided they know what is best for us and the birds. Anyway, the pelicans are starting to change into their winter breeding colors. I saw quite a few sporting a red gular throat pouch, a good sign, but I did not see many with well-developed chestnut neck color yet. Probably in January.
See our Guide to Photographing Pelicans in La Jolla.
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Brown pelican in flight. The wingspan of the brown pelican is over 7 feet wide. The California race of the brown pelican holds endangered species status. In winter months, breeding adults assume a dramatic plumage. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 22142
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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A brown pelican preening, reaching with its beak to the uropygial gland (preen gland) near the base of its tail. Preen oil from the uropygial gland is spread by the pelican’s beak and back of its head to all other feathers on the pelican, helping to keep them water resistant and dry. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 22144
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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Brown pelican. This large seabird has a wingspan over 7 feet wide. The California race of the brown pelican holds endangered species status, due largely to predation in the early 1900s and to decades of poor reproduction caused by DDT poisoning. In winter months, breeding adults assume a dramatic plumage with brown neck, yellow and white head and bright red gular throat pouch. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 22145
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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See more brown pelican photos.
Here is a California brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) preening. Using it’s long bill, the pelican spreads preen oil from its uropygial gland (near its tail) and spreads it over its wings and head. The preen oil helps to keep the feathers clean and dry. Check out the bird’s coloration, it is at the height of it’s breeding plumage with a bright red throat and chestnut brown hind neck.
See our Guide to Photographing Pelicans in La Jolla.
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A brown pelican preening, reaching with its beak to the uropygial gland (preen gland) near the base of its tail. Preen oil from the uropygial gland is spread by the pelican\’s beak and back of its head to all other feathers on the pelican, helping to keep them water resistant and dry. Note adult winter breeding plumage in display, with brown neck, red gular throat pouch and yellow and white head. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20295
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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Yet another photo of a pelican in flight. This California brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is seen soaring over the cliffs looking for a place to land and preen in the warm sun.
See our Guide to Photographing Pelicans in La Jolla.
This California brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is resting and warming itself in the sun after a morning foraging at sea. Its head is pointed behind itself and nestled between its wings.
See our Guide to Photographing Pelicans in La Jolla.
More photographs of the California race of brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) from a recent morning in La Jolla, between storms. These show the bright red and olive colors that the large gular throat pouch takes on, as well as the dark brown hind neck and yellow head feathers, that are characteristic of breeding adults during winter months.
Check out our Guide to Photographing Pelicans in La Jolla.
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Brown pelican portrait, displaying winter breeding plumage with distinctive dark brown nape, yellow head feathers and red gular throat pouch. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20231
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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Brown pelican portrait, displaying winter breeding plumage with distinctive dark brown nape, yellow head feathers and red gular throat pouch. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20232
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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Brown pelican in flight, spreading its wings wide to slow before landing on cliffs overlooking the ocean. The wingspan of the brown pelican is over 7 feet wide. The California race of the brown pelican holds endangered species status. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20229
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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Brown pelican in flight, spreading its wings wide to slow before landing on cliffs overlooking the ocean. The wingspan of the brown pelican is over 7 feet wide. The California race of the brown pelican holds endangered species status. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20230
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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A morning dentist appointment in La Jolla meant a short visit beforehand to shoot pelicans before I submitted myself to my semi-annual tooth cleaning (no cavities). I met David Osborn, a wonderful photographer from England who is currently in California to shoot a variety of natural history subjects for a few weeks, and old diving pal Jim Campbell who came over from Coronado to shoot too. It was a perfect morning to be at the ocean’s edge in La Jolla: sunny, warm, clear and the ocean glassed off for miles.
Check out our Guide to Photographing Pelicans in La Jolla.
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Brown pelican head throw, winter plumage, showing bright red gular pouch and dark brown hindneck plumage of breeding adults. During a bill throw, the pelican arches its neck back, lifting its large bill upward and stretching its throat pouch. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20188
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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Brown pelican spreads its huge wings to slow before landing on seaside cliffs. The wingspan of the brown pelican can be 7\’ wide. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20187
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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Brown pelican spreads its huge wings to slow before landing on seaside cliffs. The wingspan of the brown pelican can be 7\’ wide. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20189
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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Brown pelicans sparring with beaks, winter plumage, showing bright red gular pouch and dark brown hindneck plumage of breeding adults. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20195
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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California brown pelican portrait, on sandstone cliffs above the ocean, showing winter breeding plumage with dark brown nape, red throat and yellow head. Lit with flash, early morning before sunrise. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20191
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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Brown pelican head throw, winter plumage, showing bright red gular pouch and dark brown hindneck plumage of breeding adults. During a bill throw, the pelican arches its neck back, lifting its large bill upward and stretching its throat pouch. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20200
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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The Mavericks Surf contest was held today. No, I did not shoot it, unfortunately. I took photos of pelicans instead, not quite the same but the best I could do under the circumstances. Check out our Guide to Photographing Pelicans in La Jolla.
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Brown pelican closeup showing characteristic winter mating plumage, including yellow head, dark brown nape of neck and red gular throat pouch. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20154
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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Brown pelican raising its bill in a head throw to stretch is throat. Winter plumage, non-mating coloration. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20155
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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Brown pelican spreads its huge wings to slow before landing on seaside cliffs. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20156
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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Brown pelican portrait, resting on sandstone cliffs beside the sea, winter mating plumage with distinctive dark brown nape and red gular throat pouch. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20157
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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Double-crested cormorant. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20159
Species: Phalacrocorax auritus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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Brown pelican spreads its huge wings to slow before landing on seaside cliffs. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20164
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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Brown pelican portrait, winter mating plumage with distinctive dark brown nape and red gular throat pouch. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20179
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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Check out our Guide to Photographing Pelicans in La Jolla.
It looked beautiful out my front window this morning, so I headed off to La Jolla hoping for some sharp brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) flight shots. Not to be. The clouds had built up around Mt. Soledad by the time I got down there. I tried to salvage the morning with some blurred flight shots and got a couple of marginal keepers but the color of the light was weird (see shots below). What saved the morning from being a total loss was a small group of gregarious sea lions. Having been hauled out for a while most of them were a nice shade of blond (and dumb?).
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Brown pelican in flight, blurred due to long exposure before sunrise. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20119
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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Brown pelican in flight, blurred due to long exposure before sunrise. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20120
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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California sea lions hauled out on rocks beside the ocean. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20130
Species: Zalophus californianus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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Brown pelican head throw, blurred due to long exposure before sunrise. During a bill throw, the pelican arches its neck back, lifting its large bill upward and stretching its throat pouch. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20121
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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I got down to La Jolla again this morning. It looked clear when I left the house but when I checked the surf at Ponto it was bumpy so I decided no go on surf photos and went with the backup plan of birds for the second day in a row. I should have opened the car window, then I would have known how windy it was. Anyway, I get down to La Jolla, hop out of the car and my hair goes swirly, its really windy. I go to my favorite spot and watch all the birds looping around, riding the gusts and figuring out where to land. As the morning went on I saw Mike Wilson (whom I met a couple times last winter) as well as John Pelafigue again. I managed to get a few more good flight shots by handholding the 300. I ran into three more people who mentioned they had seen my blog comments on pelicans in La Jolla and found them helpful. So I’ve added a few more comments and and published them as a PDF file. Here it is:
Guide to Photographing Pelicans in La Jolla.
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California brown pelican in flight, soaring over the ocean with its huge wings outstretched. The wingspan of the brown pelican can be over 7 feet wide. The California race of the brown pelican holds endangered species status. Adult winter non-breeding plumage showing white hindneck and red gular throat pouch. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20083
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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California brown pelican in flight, soaring over the ocean with its huge wings outstretched. The wingspan of the brown pelican can be over 7 feet wide. The California race of the brown pelican holds endangered species status. Adult winter non-breeding plumage showing white hindneck and red gular throat pouch. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20080
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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See our Guide to Photographing Pelicans in La Jolla.
I met photographer John Pelafigue this morning, a great guy from Humbolt whose website has some really fine images. I also bumped into Garry McCarthy whom I had not seen since bumping into him in La Jolla shooting birds a year ago. Like myself, Garry is an underwater photographer who has also taken up the curious habit of shooting photos on land. Its sad, really, when one gives up real photography for the less savory and more mundane terrestrial pursuit(cue: laugh). As far as my photography went, I had too much lens and my flight shots were pretty weak. I did get a couple pre-sunrise shots of of brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) about 7am, some 30 minutes before the sun tops Mt. Soledad and lights the birds:
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Brown pelican, winter adult breeding plumage, showing bright red gular pouch and dark brown hindneck plumage of breeding adults. This large seabird has a wingspan over 7 feet wide. The California race of the brown pelican holds endangered species status, due largely to predation in the early 1900s and to decades of poor reproduction caused by DDT poisoning. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20074
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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Brown pelican, non-breeding winter plumage. This large seabird has a wingspan over 7 feet wide. The California race of the brown pelican holds endangered species status, due largely to predation in the early 1900s and to decades of poor reproduction caused by DDT poisoning. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20078
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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See our Guide to Photographing Pelicans in La Jolla.
Here are my two favorites from this morning. First is a brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) in sweet morning light, taken just as the sun rose high enough to clear Mt. Soledad and throw light on the pelicans on the cliff. Second is a shot showing the Scripps Institute of Oceanography research pier in the background. When I was in grad school at UCSD, I used to work in the Norpax building on the SIO campus (upper right in the photo), overlooking the ocean.
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Brown pelican in flight. The wingspan of the brown pelican is over 7 feet wide. The California race of the brown pelican holds endangered species status. In winter months, breeding adults assume a dramatic plumage. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20051
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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Brown pelican in flight. The wingspan of the brown pelican is over 7 feet wide. The California race of the brown pelican holds endangered species status. In winter months, breeding adults assume a dramatic plumage. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20053
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
View this Image in Google Earth!
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See our Guide to Photographing Pelicans in La Jolla.
A portrait of a California brown pelican in flight (Pelecanus occidentalis). I shot quite a few sharp, crisp pelican shots by handholding the 500mm recently. Normally I just use it on a Wimberley gimbel head since the lens and camera are so heavy, but that combination is sometimes awkward when tracking flying birds. It can be hard to swing the lens through a large arc and keep the focus spot on the subject while following a fast-flying bird. I have heard other photographers insisting they can shoot tack sharp images of birds in flight by handholding the 500mm so I decided to give it a shot, and surprised myself with how many of the images were razor. I’ll be handholding more often in the future I think.
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Brown pelican spreads its enormous wings to slow before landing on seaside cliffs. Brown pelicans appear awkward but in fact are superb and efficient fliers, ranging far over the ocean in search of fish to dive upon. They typically nest on offshore islands and inaccessible ocean cliffs. The California race of the brown pelican holds endangered species status. In winter months, breeding adults assume a dramatic plumage. La Jolla, California, USA.
Image: 20017
Species: Pelecanus occidentalis, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus
Location: La Jolla, California, USA
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See: brown pelican photos.
See our Guide to Photographing Pelicans in La Jolla.
Here is a shot of a juvenile California brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis). Pelicans tend to be ugly, and juveniles with their plain brown coloration and skinny frame are really ugly. It is hard to get a photograph of one of these prepubescent pelicans where the bird actually looks handsome. This is as close as I have come so far.
See: brown pelican photos.
See our Guide to Photographing Pelicans in La Jolla.
This California brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) is rising off the ocean to land on nearby sea cliffs after a morning foraging for food, primarily small fish that it takes by diving.
See our Guide to Photographing Pelicans in La Jolla.
This is California brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus). It is seen here preening, pulling preen oil from its uropygial gland onto its beak, which it will spread onto its feathers to help keep them water resistant and clean.
