Brown Pelican in Flight, Pelecanus occidentalis, #40014
Brown pelican in flight. Adult winter breeding plumage. Brown pelicans were formerly an endangered species. In 1972, the United States Environmental Protection Agency banned the use of DDT in part to protect bird species like the brown pelican . Since that time, populations of pelicans have recovered and expanded. The recovery has been so successful that brown pelicans were taken off the endangered species list in 2009. Bolsa Chica State Ecological Reserve, Huntington Beach, California, USA