10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 8, 2015

The Brown Pelican and the Peruvian Pelican are closely related and once were considered the same species. They are indeed very similar in all plumage stages, but the Peruvian Pelican is nearly twice as big as its northern counterpart. Brown Pelicans in non-breeding plumage. Peruvian Pelican in non-breeding plumage.

Pelicans 157

Pelicans North America Peru Fish 157

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2011

The American White Pelican ( Pelecanus erythrorhynchos ) is a huge bird! They occur mainly in western and southern portions of North America, breeding inland in colonies on remote islands and wintering along warm southern coasts 1. Unlike the Brown Pelican, the American White Pelican scoops up fish while swimming.

Pelicans 165

Pelicans Fish California Condor North America 165

10,000 Birds

JUNE 23, 2015

Brown Pelicans are quite popular in Louisiana. One of the state’s nicknames is “The Pelican State,” the bird is on the state’s flag, the state seal, the state painting (yes, apparently states have official paintings), as well as on one of Louisiana’s bicentennial coins.

Louisiana 160

Louisiana Pelicans Legislature United States 160

10,000 Birds

APRIL 29, 2020

But it was the Long-billed Dowitchers who were really rocking their breeding plumage. Almost all the flying birds in the heading photo above are Dowitchers (with American White Pelicans behind them), and those are only one part of the total I saw along both lake shores. How on earth do they breed so quickly up north?)

Mexico 167

Mexico Breeding Ducks North America 167

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 2, 2018

Since 1966, when the Breeding Bird Survey first began monitoring, numbers have declined 79 percent. Birds of North America , the Cornell Lab of O data base, cites many studies on this topic and they don’t all agree on results and best practices.

North Dakota 142

North Dakota Birds Sparrows Blackbirds 142

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2015

It does not include near-shore, coastal species, like Brown Pelican, Elegant Tern, and Harbor Seal. The descriptions are all similar: a graceful black-capped shearwater with clean white underparts and patterned upperparts that breeds in New Zealand and which is uncommon in U.S. western waters in the fall.

Dolphins 162

Dolphins Whales Whaling Porpoises 162

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014

Kirtland’s Warbler is a classic niche species; they breed in only very specific conditions, which occur in only a very specific area. this species breeds. Short-tailed Albatross was thought to be, at one time, the most abundant species of albatross in the North Pacific. Half Moon Bay, CA.

Albatross 209

Albatross Endangered Species Geese Alaska 209