The Pelican: a Thing of Beauty

        This morning at 10:15 A. M. I spotted three pelicans rising on a thermal over Sunnybrook in Red Deer. They made a few turns and were rising. Then I guess the thermal petered out and they coasted down and around so that they came right over my house at about 100 m elevation.


Photo by Bill Heinsen


       Now I am fascinated with pelicans as the soar using the thermals on a sunny day. The brilliant white contrasts with some black under the wings. They gracefully ride the thermals and once in a while take a few powerful wing beats to move around in the thermal.

      Most days you can spot pelicans around Red Deer as they summer up and down the red Deer river using the islands for safe loafing grounds.

     My favorite time watching Pelicans in flight was a time they were flying down the Red Deer River. I happened to be standing on a high bank at River Bend. The pelicans flew at eye level with me as they cruised down the river.

Early Morning Bird Walk June 4 River Bend

        Today was the last in a series of six early morning bird walks that the Red Deer River Naturalists (RDRN) run each spring. Last week we had blizzard and we cancelled. Today started out as a disappointment because my camera batteries were dead and I was the only one who attended. Other than that it was superb birding.

       This morning was one of those stunning early mornings which had  bright sunlight, warm and calm.
River bend is a part of the river that contains a golf course. Much natural habitat is left along the river bank on both sides. There is a great variety from old growth aspen and spruce to lots of brush and riparian growth. There's even the odd patch of grass.

      When I got to the parking lot at the river bank there were hundreds of swallows catching insects over the river. There is a set of rapids by the parking lot so it's hard to hear much as far as bird calls go, but I could hear killdeer and finally spotted them across the river.

     A real treat was to see a couple of 737's cruising down the river in formation. Well, they weren't 737's but pelicans. Since I was on a high bank the pelicans were flying at eye level. I had spotted them early as their brilliant white flashed against the greenery. I had a good view watching the birds approach and fly down the river. Another treat was to see a chipmunk scurrying around. They seem to have been rather scarce recently

     Birds identified were tree swallows, pelicans, killdeer, mallards, crow, white throated sparrow, cedar  waxwing, house wren, robin, clay colored sparrow,  least flycatcher and yellow warbler. My other disappointment was that I heard or spotted at least another dozen birds that I was not able to identify. Partners help to identify sounds and spot hard to find birds. Some birds today were within 3meters but I couldn't see them because of the dense foliage.

      We started the early morniong bird walks to try and attract birders with little experience. This didn't work. The avid birders were the only ones who attended. So I doubt we'll run this program again. We would appreciate some  suggestionsfor activities which would attract inexperienced birders. So think about it. If you have an idea let us know. We'd like to encourage people some interest in birds to join us and improve their skills.