Synchronized swimming

"All together now, duck for fish."

"All together now, up and swallow."

"All together now, look for more fish."

"All together now, heads down, wings up."

"All together now, burp up fish."

"Start all over again."

On one of my recent trips to the zoo to check out the wild spoonbill babies, I walked over to the African section of the zoo. I stopped to see the white pelicans in the big aviary and noticed how funny they all looked doing the same thing at the same time. I watched for a while and realized they did this over and over again traveling in circles around the pond. I wonder if the white pelicans that visit Circle B Bar Reserve in the winter do this. There are hundreds of pelicans huddled close together at the reserve so I guess it's harder to notice this little routine. I thought it was cute and started snapping some pictures.

Check out more birds at

White pelicans at Lake Morton

Beautiful white pelicans at Lake Morton

The swan just had to get in the picture.

Floating around.

All lined up.

You'd think he'd fall off.

Lakeland is a small town in the middle of Florida. It's halfway between Tampa and Orlando. Their city mascot is the mute swan. There's a small lake in the middle of the city that has a large swan population. People have picnics and walk around the lake and generally hang out with the swans. The swans get fed a lot. Now there's a huge population of white ibis, geese and ducks that are there for a handout. You might also come across a few white pelicans as well. I don't know if these white pelicans migrate back up north for the summer like all of the other white pelicans in the state do. I was here early last summer and there were still a few white pelicans hanging around. White pelicans eat different than brown pelicans do. Brown pelicans dive into the water for their fish. White pelicans swim around the surface and scoop up their fish. Often you see brown pelicans alone but white pelicans are usually in groups. These white pelicans looked pretty. They don't seem to have a rough life here at the lake. 

More on the other fowl at Lake Morton later.

Birds at Homosassa Springs

A volunteer was feeding the pelicans.

The above pelican had that "Don't come near my nest." look on it's face.

There are 3 permanently injured eagles that live at the park.

Lot's of wild storks come in to get a free handout.

We found a lot of wood ducks swimming around the river near the manatees.

Sandhill crane taking a nap. A volunteer told me that years ago they had a sandhill crane that had been hurt brought to the park for rehabilitation. The crane ended up staying and attracking a wild mate. They had babies and there is now 3 generations of sandhills that live at the park. They could leave anytime they want but they still hang around all year.

How often do you see a red shouldered hawk (left) and red tailed hawk (right) sitting together on a branch? The red tailed was missing a wing.

Besides manatees, the Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park has lots of birds. Both wild and rehabilitating permanent residents. You can get really close up to some of them. There's a lagoon in the middle that has flamingos, both white and brown pelicans, storks, swans and sandhill cranes that all hang out together. The brown pelicans were working on their nests while we were there so soon there will be babies to view up close. On a visit last spring I saw a handful of baby swans. There are a lot of volunteers at the park that can answer any questions and told me all kinds of good stories about the birds there. You can also find a lot of wild birds in the park. We saw pileated woodpeckers and warblers as well. I think I'm going to head back in early spring to see any babies that are at the park.

More white pelicans before they leave

More white pelican pictures from my New Year's weekend trip at Circle B Bar Reserve. Their visit is such a short one that I've been taking a lot of pictures of them. They may leave as early as mid-February. Last year they were almost all gone by then due to the severe cold winter. They must have gone further south to find more food. Since my trip several weeks ago I've heard there are much fewer there now.

Go and check out more MyWorld images at the MyWorld Site!  http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/

White pelican party at Circle B Bar Reserve - Skywatch Friday

What is it about the white pelicans showing up at Circle B that is so much fun? My guess is that we don't see them that often in Florida except in the winter. And you rarely find them around the gulf coast side, although you may catch a far away glimpse of the small group that hangs out near Fort Desoto. They say that there are up to several thousand at Circle B right now. The pelicans fly back and forth between Lake Hancock and the marsh pond at Wading Bird Way trail. Almost all day you can see small groups of pelicans flying overhead back and forth. No one has been able to tell me why they do that. Unlike the brown pelican, the white pelican does not dive for its food. Instead it catches its prey while swimming. They swim in small groups and scoop up the fish. There are already fish kills from the severe cold weather this year. If it keeps up the pelicans will be leaving soon. I think last winter they were all gone by February. Hopefully, I can fit a couple of more trips in before they leave this winter.

For more skyscape photography from around the world, visit http://skyley.blogspot.com/.

Pelicans being fed.

The Lowry Park Zoo has a handful of beautiful white pelicans that live in the big aviary in the African section of the zoo. They fly back and forth across the pond several times a day and stay together in a flock just like they do in the wild. This past weekend I happen to be there when they were being fed. They were so graceful the way they lined up and then caught the fish. There were a few cormorants braving the crowd looking for some crumbs.

White pelican update

The white pelicans are now at Circle B Bar Reserve in large numbers. Some say in the thousands. It's really amazing to see a lake full of white pelicans all swimming together. They are constantly flying around in circles or flying back and forth between the lakes there.

Circle B Bar Part 3 - White Pelicans

White pelicans overhead.



The sky was full of white pelicans.


Solo flight.

White pelicans flying in the fog.

Pelicans far away on the other side of the lake at Circle B Bar. This was taken with my 500mm and severly cropped so they were staying away from humans.

One of the best things right now to see at Circle B are the white pelicans that have migrated there. Some say there are thousands there for the winter. These birds have come from east of the Rocky Mountains from Illinois to as far north as Canada for the winter. They tend to stay away from humans unlike the brown pelicans which can beg for food. They also do not plunge dive for their food like the brown pelicans do. They swim around for their food and scoop water and fish into their pouch and are usually in lakes or ponds. (Although I have heard there is flock hanging out at Fort Desoto right now.) They are so beautiful when they are flying. They seem to glide instead of rapid flapping. Sunday morning at Circle B they were flying over our heads in large groups from one lake to another. A couple of hours later they were flying in the opposite direction. Even in the fog it was amazing to see.