Pelican | Tony's Takes Photography

In an attempt to steal a fish, pelican nearly swallows a cormorant

June 7, 2022 by Tony

A very fun sequence of pics that I took a few months ago but never shared. The American white pelicans were just returning to Colorado for the season and a bunch were hanging out at a local pond with the double-crested cormorants. After their long flight, all were very hungry and looking hard for a meal.

Any bird that caught a fish was soon besieged by the entire group as they looked to horn in on the action. At one point, the pelicans and cormorants congregated in one corner of the pond to fish. A cormorant caught itself a little shad and that was enough to catch one pelican’s attention.

The bigger bird’s attempt to steal the fish resulted in it’s monstrous beak entirely enveloping the cormorants head! I don’t know that either ended up with the fish but it certainly had to be a traumatic event for the cormorant. 😉

A pelican tries to steal a cormorant's fish. (© Tony's Takes) — A pelican tries to steal a cormorant’s fish. (© Tony’s Takes)

Pelican pursues a heron for its fish

May 15, 2022 by Tony Leave a Comment

This was something I hadn’t seen before. Pelicans can definitely be aggressive in trying to steal a meal from other birds, usually choosing to go after cormorants. I had never seen one try to steal from a great blue heron though, let alone set off in pursuit of it in the air.

This heron caught itself a huge fish and no doubt was looking forward to the meal but the pelican had its eyes on the prize as well. The pelican chased it for a good ways and eventually the heron dropped the fish, living both empty handed.

Kind of a “content over quality” series as the pics aren’t the best with the action taking place a long ways away and not in good light but it was fun to see.

A pelican chases after a great blue heron that had caught a fish. (© Tony's Takes) — A pelican chases after a great blue heron that had caught a fish. (© Tony’s Takes)

American white pelican on dawn patrol

April 18, 2022 by Tony Leave a Comment

Yesterday I spent some time at a northern Colorado lake enjoying the crisp morning and a notable lack of wind (folks on the Front Range know how welcome this was). This beautiful summertime visitor to the Centennial State gave me a picture perfect flyby just as the sun was cresting over the horizon, illuminating it beautifully

Pelican shows its waterskiing ability

March 31, 2022 by Tony Leave a Comment

Who knew these guys were into watersports? 😉

Kind of a fun capture from a couple of weeks ago as this American white pelican landed straight toward me. As it did, it extended its legs and used its feet to help slow it down before settling onto the water for a swim. Kind of a bummer that the sun was behind the bird making for tough shooting conditions but not too bad of a capture.

Signs of spring as the boys of summer return

March 12, 2022 by Tony Leave a Comment

American white pelicans are some of the first migratory birds to return to the Colorado Front Range in the spring. Their arrival is a sure sign of the changing of the seasons.

On Thursday, I saw some but they were too far off to do anything with. Yesterday after work, I found a couple dozen of them hanging out at a local pond. They provided a couple of hours’ worth of fun photo ops as they swam, flew and fished.

These guys are just gorgeous – and massive. They are also my wife’s favorite so when I see them, I am required to photograph them or I will hear about it. 😉

An American white pelican comes in for a landing in Colorado. (© Tony's Takes) — An American white pelican comes in for a landing in Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

American white pelicans comes in for a landing in Colorado. (© Tony's Takes) — American white pelicans comes in for a landing in Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

A large group of American white pelicans swim across a pond. (© Tony's Takes) — A large group of American white pelicans swim across a pond. (© Tony’s Takes)

An American white pelican flies low over a pond. (© Tony's Takes) — An American white pelican flies low over a pond. (© Tony’s Takes)

Pelicans out for a leisurely swim

October 27, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

Nothing much exciting happening in this image but a trio of pelicans just taking it easy this past weekend. Because they are pelicans, my wife’s favorite bird, I am compelled to share the image or I might catch an earful.

Pelican drops in on a western grebe

May 25, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

An American white pelican prepares to land on a pond. (© Tony's Takes) — An American white pelican prepares to land on a pond. (© Tony’s Takes)

Well, this was one big bird with a bit of attitude.

I was tracking it across the sky as it approached and, suddenly, it takes a sharp turn and begins plunging toward the water. Its target? A western grebe that was hanging out quietly in the middle of the pond.

The grebe saw the pelican coming and after sounding an alarm, dived out of the way at the last minute. Once the pelican settled on the water, it swam toward the grebe who clearly knew it was no match for the bigger bird and moved on to a different spot of the pond.

I don’t know if the pelican thought the grebe was a fish or perhaps just has a thing against waterfowl but it was clearly targeting the much smaller bird. Kind of a fun bit of action although my angle wasn’t exactly ideal. Be sure to check out the entire sequence of images.

Pelican drops in on a western grebe — A pelican lands right near a western grebe. (© Tony’s Takes)

A pelican lands right near a western grebe. (© Tony's Takes) — A pelican lands right near a western grebe. (© Tony’s Takes)

Pelicans perch with their reflections

May 18, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

Sometimes I come across a scene and think, wow, that looks pretty cool. Such was the case with this image.

I was out on a trail, hoping to find something worth photographing. The skies were a dingy gray somewhat dampening my enthusiasm and hopes to find anything. On a pond, these two American white pelicans were perched on an old, crusty piece of concrete.

The water was the same color as the gray skies above, creating a virtually blank slate surrounding the birds on their perch, other than their reflections in the water below. Unfortunately, there was just enough of a hint of a breeze to keep the reflection from being perfect but I still find myself really liking this image.

The odd couple – snow goose and pelican hang out

May 8, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

While the images aren’t anything extraordinary, it was kind of a fun thing to see. As I was hanging out at a local pond, I noticed an American white pelican about to land. Following it, a smaller, white bird. This struck me as quite unusual so I continued to track the pair as they circled and landed.

The smaller bird was a snow goose and it seemed to have decided to hang out with the pelican for the day. Snow geese only come to Colorado during migration so it likely soon left for areas north but it was neat to see this odd couple together.

A snow goose follows a pelican to a landing on a pond in Colorado. (© Tony's Takes) — A snow goose follows a pelican to a landing on a pond in Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

Lots of wings in motion!

April 17, 2021 by Tony Leave a Comment

Well, this was a crazy scene I witnessed yesterday. After receiving my second dose of the COVID vaccine (Moderna), I decided to go for a walk around a local open space. There, I came across this very odd gathering of birds.

In the corner of the pond there were 30+ pelicans, 10+ great blue herons, a few cormorants and even a great egret – all gathered together in a very small area.

Seeing that many pelicans in one area isn’t unusual as they fish in groups. However, great blue herons don’t usually hang out together unless nesting and usually aren’t inclined to tolerate other creatures. I don’t know, but I am guessing a bunch of fish had gathered in the area and everyone was having a feast; that is the only thing that would seem to make sense.

It was definitely something I haven’t witnessed before. It didn’t last long as soon after I started photographing, someone came along the path and that was enough to scare them off resulting in this crazy cacophony of activity. You can see each of the birds I mentioned if you look close.