See all posts in the Birds of Carver County series

American White Pelicans, like the other large birds in Minnesota’s skies, draw and hold our attention. Their flocks can be a half-dozen moving steadily between our ponds and lakes, or they may form very large groups higher up. It is there that they swirl on thermal air columns and perform their magical disappearance act.  One second, we can see their broad, bright white wings contrasting with black tips standing out against a blue spring sky. Then, literally, in the blink of an eye, they seem to be gone. This happens because of their majestic coordination in following the air flow seeking higher altitude and presenting a thin perspective that takes away our view of their large, highly visible wings.

The pelican’s other instance of “now you see them, now you don’t” occurs when they are feeding. In a wonderfully captivating example of cooperative predation, swimming pelicans will form in a loose circular pattern, then simultaneously all dip their heads under the surface to trap a school of fish, with each bird hopefully catching a meal in the three-gallon gular pouch of their bill. During their breeding season, they will even hunt for fish at night.

These spectacles of behavior can be seen in Carver County from April through October. Observation records show the species spend time at most of the area’s lakes and then travel to breeding colonies in the western Minnesota counties and into the Dakotas.

Juveniles will take three to five years to mature before they can breed. The hormonal changes that occur then will change bill color from pink to orange-yellow, and a rounded plate will grow on top of their bill. When incubation of eggs is finished, the plate falls off, and black feathers sprout on top of the head. Lacking nearby colonies, most of us won’t see that change occur. There are only about 60 colonies in the United States and Marsh Lake in Big Stone and Lac qui Parle counties has one of the largest.

If you are fortunate to spend time observing them on the water, you might see them steal food from other pelicans and cormorants. They build simple nests in the shade to incubate one or two eggs. Two or three weeks after hatching, the chicks leave their nest and form a creche (group) and their parents return to pick them out of the crowd to provide about 150 pounds of food before the young are independent.

Besides fish, pelicans will eat salamanders, crayfish and tadpoles in the shallow waters of their colony or at the rest stops during migration. We see the non-breeding pelicans as they roam throughout the state during the summer.

Pelecanus erythrorhynchos is one of the largest and heaviest of our birds. Sixty inches long, weighing about 16 pounds, and having a wingspan of over 100 inches, it may need a running, splashing start to build up to take-off speed. In the hot days of summer, pelicans may quiver their pouch to provide cooling.

Despite their weight, White Pelicans are very buoyant due to air sacs in their bones and under their skin.

Our common name American White Pelican differentiates it from the Great White Pelican that is found in Europe. They must have been able to name their species first, because ours is pretty great, too.

The species’ scientific name erythrorhyncho is based on the Latin word for red. Perhaps those who named it had color vision problems. The Ojibwe tribe called pelicans “shetek.” Minnesotans seem to like to bring the species image to mind with our geographic names of Pelican Point, Pelican River, Pelican Rapids, Pelican Island and at least six Pelican Lakes. We have these reminders that we are fortunate the White Pelicans bring their majestic flight to our clear summer skies and their brilliant contrast to our sparkling blue lakes.

For more information:

• The Sibley Guide to Birds, by David Allen Sibley
• Reader’s Digest Book of North American Birds
• Birds of Minnesota and Wisconsin, by Janssen, Tessen, and Kennedy
• Breeding Birds of Minnesota, by Pfannmuller, Niemi and Green
• The Audubon Society’s Encyclopedia of North American Birds, by John K. Terres
• Birds of the World, by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• Online: All About Birds, by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology LINK
• Online: Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas