White Pelicans

Over the weekend, we stayed at our friend's house on Lake Houston. They are avid bird watchers. Of course, at this time of year, all the birds are flying south for the winter. We saw the traditional vees of geese honking as they flew overhead. We also saw some clouds of swallows or other smaller birds circling and darting around above our heads.

On the lake behind their home, a huge flock of White Pelicans congregated on the water. I'd never seen White Pelicans before. They'd paddle down the lake, a bunch of them would take off flying in circles overhead, then in just a few minutes, they'd be down at the far end of the lake and they'd paddle back again. They kept it up for quite a while.

I don't understand the behavior. Were they herding the fish? Some kind of mating behavior? I'm sure it'd take a bird specialist to explain it to me, but it was very fun to watch.

I'm not an aficionado or birdwatcher. I've even been known to refer to birds as "rats with wings". Most recently when the little buggers kept crapping all over my patio furniture, I used a lot of foul (fowl!) language. When they are not defecating on my personal possessions, I find them lovely to watch and will spend time wondering about where they go when they fly away.

This group was interesting because of their behavior. The roiling mass of birds circling and lifting off, then slowly sailing down the length of the lake inlet again. Fascinating.

It does make you wonder about what goes through their little bird minds.

When we lived in North Carolina, we saw Brown Pelicans. They were big, BIG birds. You didn't want to challenge one of those. If it was roosting on a pylon, you wanted to give it a wide berth. No reason to get in its personal space. You would be asking for it. Pecked to death is not my chosen way to go.

When I saw these pristine White Pelicans, they appeared smaller and somehow less threatening than the big Browns. Probably if I got in their way, they'd be just as aggressive. Who knows?

What I do know is that it's Fall in Texas. The bird watching is great here. All the birds in North America kind of funnel down through South Texas on their way to points south of the border. If you keep a 'life book' or whatever it is that birdwatchers call their personal journal, then you've got to be a happy camper in Texas.

If I kept one, I'd be scratching "White Pelican" on my list of birds. I saw a whole bunch this weekend.

--Sandee Wagner