Hello all
I had shot many images of the Brown Pelican, but had few of the American White Pelican, most of the time when I see them they are huddled together in large groups lying on small land masses here and there. I began to encounter more activity recently, so I thought I would present a few of the comings and goings of one of the largest North American waterbirds.
Canon EOS 30D, Canon EF 500mm f4L IS, with Canon EF 1.4x II TC
1. We begin by capturing the start of a takeoff run, this water is not deep at all, if you were standing in it, everything from the middle of your shins down would be submerged.
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2. The "pushoff" with those huge webbed feet, obviously requires more push due to weight, than a lot of other waterbirds I've witnessed; Heron's, and Egrets for example; just simply leap up and thier airborne.
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3. The first indication that he/she has enough airspeed, those "Landing gear" appear to be in the retracted position; as those powerful wings push the air in order to acquire and maintain lift.
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4. "Houston, we have liftoff," notice that those feet are still not retracted, better get those feet up, too much drag!
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5. Our next sequence involves the opposite, where we have a bird in breeding form coming in for a landing. Notice the graduated plates on this animals upper mandible. According to my Smithsonian Handbook of Birds of North America, "breeding birds shed the upper mandible plates after the eggs are laid and when they show a dull grayish crown and nape."
Notice those feet are fully in the up position in this shot.
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6. The landing sequence has begun, as this birds feet are in the down position causing major drag, especially since the webbed skin and toes are fully spread, also notice the primary feathers on each of the outer wings, beginning to curve upwards for directional control as he/she begins the descent.
Compare the spread webbing and toes in this shot with the closed webbing and toes in the previous takeoff shots above. (closed webbed feet, less drag, spread webbed feet, more drag)
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7. "Touchdown," and final effort to slow all airspeed, here we can see that those feet and legs are used for something more than just standing and walking, I guess I was right to refer to them as "Landing gear." Take note of those primaries on each outer wing in thier full upward curve producing more drag as he/she slows to a complete stop. I guess we ourselves learned to fly by watching the "Masters."
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8. This landing was short lived however, because he/she took off immediately and flew off into the distance.
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Thanks for looking.
