Pelicans are one of my favorite seabirds. They are comical looking, but they are sure excellent flyers. These photos were taken down in Ensenada, Mexico.
There is a monument in Key West that marks the most southerly point of the United States. As we were looking at the monument, Pelicans were fishing for small minnows that were around the monument. The water was probably about 3 feet. The Pelicans would hoover about 5 or 6 feet above the surface until they would see a meal, and then they would tuck there wings and drop like a rock into the water and catch the little fish by surprise. There were a dozen or so Pelicans and they were fishing like this was to be their last meal.
A few years before that, I was with a team of mariners on a 110' jet yacht on our way to Japan from Guam. We were delivering it to its owner in Tsuneishi, Japan near Onomichi. Out on the open sea, Boobies and Frigate birds were doing the same thing as the Pelicans at Key West. I think, however, that the Boobies and Frigate birds were going after Flying Fish. The sea was so clear that you could see the birds even after they broke the surface. Their bright, white bodies stood out in the blue world of ocean and sky. They were dive bombing the surface from much higher altitude than the Pelicans were. They would start their run from 40 or 50 feet up and just before hitting the water, they would fold their wings and punch through the surface. I watched them for many long, enjoyable hours. I video taped the action and when I find the footage I will put it on this blog.
