Pelicans Around the Chesapeake Bay
I hope everyone is staying warm through Winter Storm Fern!
I thought I’d jump back in with a surely unique, prehistoric-looking bird to share. 😃
Whether brown or white, we are seeing more and more sightings of pelicans around the Chesapeake Bay.
American White Pelicans continue to arrive each winter at Blackwater NWR. Couple weeks ago I scoped/counted 148 on Blackwater River. I was standing alongside the refuge’s official counter and he counted 161. It was great to see a few not too far out for some photos.
American White Pelicans
For the Brown Pelican, we continue to see the occasional fly-by as they spend more time coming up to the mid-section of the Chesapeake Bay through the summer.
This past September, it was real exciting to come upon a pod of 32 Brown Pelicans resting on bay riprap with a few Double-crested Cormorants mixed in!
Brown Pelicans
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Bay Photos by Donna 
Donna, your photos share a bit of Chesapeake treasure. I have not visited for a few years, but the Choptank River still sends me an invitation. It is awesome that some of the historical lighthouses will be preserved.
When we traveled a few years out west, the Chesapeake Bay was always calling for us to come home, so I know the tug it brings to our souls. Happy to share memories with you! 😊
Wonderful photos Donna
Thank you, Sheree!
Fantastic shots, Donna 👍👍👍
Thank you, Michael!
You’re welcome, Donna.
Lovely to see some more of your images Donna, been a while.
Thank you, Brian!
Beautiful! And how cool someone is buying up and restoring lighthouses!! We’ve stopped and visited several on the West Coast.
Thank you, Lisa! Lighthouses are intriguing and interesting!
So good to see you lovely bird photos again. Hope you are feeling better. Pelicans are strange birds but quite interesting. (Suzanne)
Thank you, Suzanne, I am feeling better.
Pelicans are indeed strange! 😉
Nice photos and thanks for the education. I didn’t know that a group brown pelicans were called a pod or squad instead of a flock.
Thank you, David! I keep learning myself. 🙂
Always good to hear from you Donna !
Thank you, Ashley!
How wonderful, Donna! Nice to see you back along with your terrific photos 😊
Thank you, Belinda!
Fantastic birds. Thank you for sharing them.
Thank you and you’re welcome, Tom!
I am sure that you know this Limerick, but it always springs to my mind when I see a pelican:
“A wonderful bird is the pelican, / His bill will hold more than his belican. / He can take in his beak / Food enough for a week, / But I’m damned if I see how the helican.”
🤗😉 I love it!!!
Wonderful shots. Those are two of the birds of the US that I know I’ve seen
Thank you, IJ! Happy to hear you’ve seen these, they are goofy-fun and interesting to see!
Very nice shots Donna! I am still on the lookout for White Pelicans. The park where they usually stop over while migrating in the Fall was closed the entire year for renovation so hopefully I’ll get to see this this Fall. I like your Brown Pelicans also. I saw some in Mexico years ago.
Thank you, Linda! Fingers crossed you do get to see the Whites, they are gorgeous. Do they migrate back through the park in the Spring?
I hope I get to see them too Donna. The odd thing is I follow several people who just photograph birds and they never post pictures of their return which is odd. A Tennessee blogger posts pictures of Snow Geese migrating – they are really beautiful.
Your images are incredible and it is so good to see a post from you. 😊
Thank you, Pepper! 😊
I haven’t seen any white pelicans since last Spring and hope I see some this Spring. I’ll be seeing Brown Pelicans next month when I go to Calif. for some beach time and see our son and d-i-l.
You got some great shots of them both! Stay warm!
Fingers crossed for Whites this spring for ya! Thank you, Deborah!