Herons and Pelicans

We have taken soooooo many pictures of herons and pelicans, that the topic will get it's own post.  These two birds are abundant on the Gulf coast.  Co-mingled with the pictures is a bit of info about the birds, particularly for the grandkids (and anyone else who might be interested).  Enjoy!

Heron

This paragraph was previously posted:  Great heron is a wading bird, 36-54 inches tall, with a wing span up to 80”, and they only weigh 5 pounds !  They’re found all over north America.  Their primary food is small fish, which they swallow whole. 

They breed in colonies with over 100 nests in a colony.  The nests are re-used in subsequent years.   Males pick the nest, then start courting females.  

The males choose a different nest each year.  Nests are made of sticks and can be up to 50 inches wide.  The female lays 3-6 pale blue eggs about 2-3 inches long.  Eggs are laid in March-April, incubate about 27 days.  Both parents incubate the eggs and feed the chicks.  The chicks first fly at 55 days old.

Adult herons have few natural predators.  Occasionally an eagle, or great horned owl will attach a smaller adult heron. 

Brown pelicans

We have also seen many brown pelicans, especially in tourist areas.   They are very accustomed to people making them easy and fun to photograph.  A frequently heard question … “Kris, how many pelican pictures do you need?”    

The Brown Pelican is the smallest of 8 pelican species but is still a large bird with a length up to 54 inches and a wing span up to 8 feet.   It has a large bill with a ‘gular’ pouch, used to strain water from the scoop that brings in fish, then thy swallow the fish whole.

They are exceptionally buoyant due to internal air sacs under their skin.  They feed by dive bombing for fish, ore more passively by setting in the water and reaching down to pick up fish.  By either method, they strain out the water that was picked up in the scoop, then wholly swallow the remaining fish. 

The breeding pattern is similar to that of heron.  Pelican nests built on ground is subject to alligator predation. 

The brown pelican is the state bird of Louisiana.The brown pelican was listed as an endangered species until 2009

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