Like this:

No really, it wasn’t as horrible as it sounds.  I shot them with my camera, not a gun. 

In Baton Rouge, we are lucky enough to have a flock of White Pelicans stop at the City Lakes during their migration.  My mother says a small flock of them first stopped here about 6 or 7 years ago, staying 2 or 3 weeks before moving on, and each year the flock grows.  I’ve been down to the lakes about 5 or 6 times to try to get some good pictures, but they were always huddled up on the shore opposite the public parking area.  Unfortunately, where they were huddled up is inaccessible because it is private property.  Each time I went, though, I felt the flock had grown.  I think they are still arriving. 

But Thursday I took a chance and drove over there during my lunch hour.  I was thrilled to find lots of them out swimming on the lake.  I managed to get a few shots before they noticed me and started swimming away.  I decided to drive around to another, smaller lake on the off chance that some more pelicans were over there.  It was my lucky day!  There were a ton more on the small lake that has a one-way drive all the way around it.  I drove around the lake, taking pictures out of my window, and was able to catch up with them as they swam away.  I hope to go back and try again, but I was pretty pleased with the pictures I got.  Here are a few of my favorites.  Enjoy!

GingerSnapps

I can’t get over how beautiful they are.  The Brown Pelican is the state bird of Louisiana, but I’d never even heard of White Pelicans until I saw these.

I managed to get a picture of this one flying overhead.  Wow. 

This is just a portion of the flock.  Or one of the flocks.  They were everywhere.  And when I saw this group, they were diving for fish, I guess, and almost diving in unison, bobbing their mouths/beaks (whatever they are called!) in the water at the same time.  It was really something to see!

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