The Pelicans Arrive
In April, word spreads up river again. The Pelicans are back. They've been sighted at Chatauqua, Havana, Rice Lake, Banner, Mendenhall Road, north of the McCluge bridge, Lacon marina, Hennepin and Hopper. Even the most dysfunctional natrualist gets word; at church, from the newspaper photos, casual sightings of birds just too big to be gulls.
Peorians take pride in our pelican parade. Natives will tell you that as recently as the late 90's pelicans weren't to be seen locally. Apparently a large flock that usually migrated over Indiana got blown off course and the birds have used the Illinois River as a flyway ever since. So in our minds, their beauty is augmented by a lingering aura of stolen treasure.
The gold standard picture of pelicans was taken by Ansel Adams ( icon of modern photography). He caught a high spiral of birds half with sunset reflecting off their wings, the other half in shadow. I yearn to take a similar shot next to the delapidated factory in Bartonville, a confluence of rust belt, river, and wild things.
However, one of the rules of nature photography is to accept what you are given by the earth gods. Longing after the impossible gets in the way of seeing the spectacular that is right in front of you. I call it being alert to the surprise factor. It was April 1, 2005. I was traveling north on route 24 when I caught a glimpse of white near the Bartonville boat ramp. I made the quick decision, served onto Mendenhall Road and eased by the ponds that were on either side. There were thousands of great white pelicans stirring from the night's rest. Luckily, I had my telephoto lens, battery power,and an empty 512M card. I went to work. For four days I returned at dawn to document raft life on the Bartonville boat ramp. I did manage to get some shots of pelicans on the wing. But the best sequences captured behavior that was new to me.
Unlike the solitary feeding of heron and egrets, pelicans feed in groups. The raft moves across a pond in a parade of stately progression, occasionally augmented by the fluttering of wings that span six feet. According to Sibley's, the churning feet and wing movement drive fish forward, trapping them in shallower water, and the behavior clearly improves feeding success of most of the birds. Great blue herons and great egrets recongnize the possibilities too. They line the shores where pelicans feed, waiting to pick off the hapless fish driven before the raft.
Occasionally, group discipline breaks down and five or six birds will go after a larger fish in a little feeding frenzy. The pelican who traps the fish in its pouch has a few more logistical problems to deal with.
The fish has to be reoriented head down for swallowing.
The Pelican has to fend off the other birds going after his catch.
Then getting the fish swallowed can be a challenge,
not to mention flying after consuming one half his body weight in carp.
The water level in the ponds was slowly going down over the five days the pelicans were there. Initially, most of the catch were four inch baby bull catfish, and later bigger shad and carp were taken. As the water level dropped, the water no longer could flow freely to and from the river. The fish were trapped and gaping for oxygen.
By the last two days the birds were only taking big game. Some of these large fish had been caught in a bird's pouch and then dropped onto the road in flight. Other birds managed to scarf down a five pound shad or carp and just swim low in the water, increasing my respect for the power of their digestive juices.
On the sixth day the pelicans were gone and the edges of the ponds were lined with thousands of dead fish, victims of raft and river.
