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Australian Pelican in action

Started Sep 23, 2015 | Photos thread
Guy Parsons
Guy Parsons Forum Pro • Posts: 40,000
Pelican stories
1

Nice shots Vass, good looking birds.

It is rather easy to get up real close or too close at most coastal places where they tend to be fed to get the tourists to come and see them, like The Entrance up on the Central Coast above Sydney, or at a fish restaurant at Woy Woy not far north from Sydney. Be very aware of that hooked end beak if hand feeding the darlings fish scraps.

My best moments were seeing them acting as they should in the wild in a small lake up north a bit nearer Newcastle area (at Seaham for those who know). I saw maybe 4 or 5 of them swimming along the lake in a line side by side, then suddenly they would all duck their heads under and keep swimming along. After a bit they would all pop their heads up and swallow anything caught. In those days no development, we had to bash through possibly snake ridden scrub to get a nice spot to watch, now is more civilised.

Those lower beaks are flexible and open out like a giant fishing scoop when under water, so they were cooperating in a grand fishing expedition to try and catch as much as possible, what escaped from one would probably be caught by the one next door.

Second story is a friend was out walking her dog when an over-flying pelican pooped on them. Horrible rotten fish smelly poop and was a huge mess to clean up from the dog and herself. Big birds make big poops. Yukko.

Regards..... Guy

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