Yesterday, I wrote a blog post and shared some photos of a female Northern Harrier that I photographed in a field close to Kerr Dam in Oklahoma. Today I’m sharing a series of photos of an American White Pelican catching fish in the river below that same dam.
Getting Into Position at the River
To get a better angle for photographing birds in the river, I carried my camera and lens down the large rocks. It takes me a while to do this because those rocks are rough to move across with my gear. Once I get near the water, I sit on the rocks and wait for whatever action is happening in front of me.
How These Pelicans Fish Differently Here
The American White Pelicans catch fish differently in this location than they did in the small lake that I wrote about in a previous blog post. In that blog post, I wrote that they will form groups to corral fish into the shallows where they can easily gulp them up.
However, in the Arkansas River below Robert S. Kerr Lock and Dam, one Pelican will fly near the dam and begin floating backward down the river. As it floats backward, I notice that it dips its large beak into the water and scoops up fish. Most of the time I can’t see what it caught, but I can see something pressing against the large pouch before it swallows it.
Stealing Fish From Other Birds
I’ve also noticed these Pelicans aren’t shy about taking advantage of other birds. They’ll steal fish from Gulls and Double-crested Cormorants whenever the opportunity shows up.
Sometimes a Gull will dive and come up with a fish that’s too heavy to lift. As soon as a Pelican sees the Gull struggling, it flies over and crowds the Gull until it drops the fish. The Pelican scoops it up immediately. The same thing happens with Double-crested Cormorants. When a Cormorant surfaces with a large fish it can’t swallow, a Pelican will move in fast and cause the bird to drop the fish. It wastes nothing.
What I Saw in Today’s Photos
In the photos I’m sharing today, the Pelican floated along and grabbed something after dipping its head deeply. These birds will push their whole head underwater when feeding in this river. They go much deeper than what I usually see in lakes.
It’s always interesting to sit here and watch how differently these Pelicans fish below the dam.
Image Information (First Image):
- Date: 12/11/23
- Time: 09:14 AM
- Camera: Canon EOS R5
- Lens: RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM
- ISO: 800
- Aperture: 8
- Shutter: 1/3200
- Exp. Comp.: -0.3
- Lens (mm): 500
- Program Mode: Manual