A California brown pelican glides effortlessly through the air, its wings span more than 6 feet across, beating slow and powerfully, yet moving at surprising speed and capable of carrying it thousands of miles atop coastal winds. The bird’s profile is distinct as it descends, its long bill angled toward the water below, eyes fixed on a swarm of silvery scales beneath the surface. This hunting technique, called plunge-diving, is shared by only a few select species — with the brown pelican among the most proficient. It can dive from as high as 70 feet, utilizing the air sacs beneath its skin to cushion its fall and ensure buoyancy for a quick return to the surface with its prey.
As it breaches the surface, the impact stuns an unsuspecting fish and the pelican scoops it up, the thin skin of its bill pouch expanding with the bulk. Upon surfacing, the bird tilts its bill to drain the water, then swallows its prey whole.
The scene is repeated countless times over the Pacific throughout the summer months. But as the weather shifts, this pelican, like thousands of others, will head south, leaving behind noticeable gaps in Oregon’s seascapes and skies.
Brown pelicans are seen on the Oregon coast from spring through fall, taking advantage of the summer sardine spawn and the seasons’ other bounties. While some individuals are year-round residents in their nesting range, many of these birds are well-worn travelers, having migrated as many as two thousand miles to reach their post-breeding season home. Some even go beyond Oregon’s state line, flying as far north as British Columbia. Then, as winter approaches, they return south to warmer climes. Breeding pelicans nest in California and Mexico, some remaining there throughout the year. Still, many non-breeding juveniles and adults form large flocks, once again taking wing to travel along the coasts of North and South America.
California brown pelicans are just one of many bird species that depart for the winter. The tufted puffins inhabiting Cannon Beach’s Haystack Rock head out to sea, as do the common murres packed shoulder-to-shoulder atop Yaquina Head’s Colony Rock. During the winter, the only way to see such birds is by going out on the open ocean — or you can make a much easier trek to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. It’s open-air, walk-through aviary mirrors the rocky outcroppings that seabirds so prefer. Here, visitors can watch tufted puffins, horned puffins, common murres, and pigeon guillemots fly over, dive below, and splash passersby.
No matter the season, visitors of all ages can flock to the Aquarium’s Seabird Aviary to share the seabird experience without ever leaving dry land.
photos courtesy of Jeremy Burke (@j.burkephotos)
