Pelican Brief

A few more images from my trip to Goose Pond a few Sundays past to photograph the American White Pelicans.

Such huge birds with odd shaped bodies and large noses on their beaks. Also quite interesting to watch them socializing with each other and flying in and out of groupings.

These birds will fly to the upper Midwest and parts in southern Canada to nest and breed.

As the winter takes over, the birds will fly to coastlines along the southern United States as well as Central and Southern American coasts. Earlier this week one naturialist counted one thousand Pelicans still stopped over at Goose Pond. Would love to go back on a warm day and take some images.

A new Nikon D5100 arrived last week. Yippee! I think my future holds a higher end Nikon, but for now I'm sticking with the D5100.

Spring has arrived in the Bluegrass State with a balmy 80 degrees today! Magnolias are blooming in Bernheim and with some luck perhaps I can get some images this weekend. We have three days of rain coming this week. I know Spring hasn't taken a foothold in the mountains out West or here in the Eastern Appalachians. And some folks tell me snow is still an every day occurrence in Canada, so perhaps we should be consulting the weather Gods to help remedy this situation. ENJOY!

American White Pelicans

Dare I drive two hours to see what birds are at Goose Pond FWA in central Indiana. Why, of course. The sky was blue, the sun was shining only occasionally abscurred by fluffy white clouds. Beautiful American White Pelicans were busily cohabitating in one of the many marshlands in Beehunter's Marsh in Goose Pond FWA just south of a tiny town called Linton in central Indiana. They allowed me to only get so close and then they would move away.

Numbering in the hundreds, the pelicans were busily refueling, as they took a much needed break, having traveled far from points in the southern United States. A migration only partially complete. Soon these pelicans will depart, as have many of their counterparts already, to points north, where they will nest and breed.

There was one small flock of pelicans in the southern most marsh at Beehunter's that I was sure were the only ones left. But before departing Goose Pond, I checked one last marsh in northern Beehunter's and there they were. Huddled in large groups and small, hundreds of American White Pelicans. So glad I persevered. To watch these huge birds with their large knotty bills and bright yellow (although I think they are more orange than yellow) gullets and their large black tipped wings was amazing. Amazing. And a Life List Bird for me as well. Yippee.

My various Goose Pond encounters included Whooping Cranes, which I wasn't expecting at all, Sandhill Cranes, Northern Shovelers, American Coots, Tundra Swans and Canadian Geese, of course. But the highlight for me was the American White Pelicans. And they are actually why I made the long drive. So gorgeous. ENJOY!

Postscript: Did I mention I can foretell the future. I see a new Nikon camera body in my future. OK. I dropped my Nikon last night with my 300 lens on it and jammed the shutter release. I'll have it repaired, of course, as it still has lots of life left in it. The lens is OK, I think. But in anticipation of taking a trip later this year, I have decided a second camera body is necessary. Did I mention that I am well known, and I do mean, well known, for being clumsy. I am. I have a long, long history dating back to all of the plates I broke as a young girl while drying the dishes in the evening after dinner. There my clumsiness was first evidenced and well, it still prevails.

Goose Pond Fish & Wildlife Area, Linton, Indiana

For quite some time I've wanted to visit Goose Pond Fish & Wildlife Area south of Linton, in central Indiana. Mind you this is a long, long drive from Louisville for a day trip. However, the weather forecast today looked promising so I headed out. As I approached the marshes at Goose Pond, the Great Blue Herons were visible everywhere and quite a few close to the road.

As you drive through the main portion of Goose Pond, you'll find a huge marsh with Route 59 running north and south right through the middle of it. There's a second marsh area northeast of Goose Pond called Beehunter's Marsh which I visited, but didn't see many species of birds on this visit. The water was a gorgeous blue today. The perfect day to explore the entire area.

I encountered this Great Blue Heron intently keeping an eagle eye out for a meal. I didn't get the impression I even warranted a glance from him. At times as I found Herons standing a little closer to Route 59, if I stopped my car to snap an image they would fly away squawking. I wasn't even close to them. A little different behavior from what I'm used to at Mustatatuck.

The marshes at Goose Pond are five times the size of Mustatatuck. One important note here, Goose Pond is in the direct path of one of North America's migratory flyways called the Mississippi Migratory Flyway. Generally, birds fly through in Fall from Yukon, Alaska and southern Ontario, flying through Michigan and Ohio and directly over Goose Pond in Indiana. So this fish and wildlife area is a major stopover for the migratory birds on their way to the Mississippi River. From there they continue flying south to the Gulf of Mexico, where they make their way east or west along the coast to overwinter in southern Florida or the Texas coast or parts further south.

I wanted you to see the flyways on a map which I pulled off of www.birdnature.com's website. There are many websites that offer information on the flyway if you Google it. I can't wait to go back to Goose Pond when the migratory birds are making their Fall pilgrimage. Perhaps a two day trip would be in order as I've read the many different types of birds and the sheer numbers of each species is huge at that time. Hope your weekend was great. ENJOY!