MY PELICAN BRIEF

   "Was it through your know how that the hawk learned to fly, soaring effortlessly on thermal updrafts?...Did you command the eagles flight?...Who do you think gave weather wisdom to the ibis?" -Job     

   Pushing off from shore, camera in hand, head peeking just above a log built up

Photo by Gabe Parnell

with leafy branches, face streaked with mud. I'm letting the current carry me close to a group of pelicans around the corner. My floating debris disguise doesn't fool them at all. The whole group takes flight at first sight of me.

   Covid-19 has shut down some of our usual spring/summer searching for the clearest lakes in Wisconsin to freedive, snorkel & spearfish in, which are usually what my blogs are all about:(www.wisconsinclearlakes.blogspot.com)
   As my always inspiring sister Kathryn says, playfully, but truly, of any negative scene: "Turn that bugger into lemonade, best ya can."
    Still wanting to get my water fix, plan B (lemonade) has turned this spring into the  "Year of the pelican."
   Sparked by my interest in getting close to pelicans, I've taken to snorkeling in nearby murky waters to photograph them and other surface sights.

 Graceful White Incredible Hulk
    I don't know of a bird that looks so cartoonishly awkward yet flies with such grace as a pelican. Their "V" group sky soaring formations, fittingly called "squadrons" are impressive.
   But there's something breathtaking about their suspended glide as they come in for a landing on massive 9ft wingspans. (2nd only to the condor in North America. Eagles have a "mere" 7 ft wingspan).
   Seems the laws of physics are being violated as this hulk of a bird extends its glide for an endless stretch before finally dropping landing gear. Suspended animation. A type of magic!
   They also do this levitation trick when traveling longer distances over open water -inches from the water -expertly using updrafts.

   As I watch this great display of flight, my hat instinctively goes off to the Creator and the words to the opening quote come to mind.
   Found in the biblical Book of Job, this quote comes from the Creator's longest speech ever given to a person and most of it is about the wonders of creation and God's great enjoyment of it and care in creating/crafting every angle of it.

No Fake News Here!
   In our especially troubled times this might not seem relevant. But the soul satisfying, restorative effect of spending real (versus virtual) time in direct contact with the divine fingerprint, i.e. nature, can't be underestimated as a sanity reset; an escape TO reality; nothing photo shopped, artificially enhanced, smoke screens or hidden agendas.
   Here you find the perfect balance between beauty & effeciency.
No "fake news" to sort through...REFRESHING!

   Hard to find a more captivating natural wonder then this huge, white, eye catching bird -The American White Pelican.

Why Are We Seeing More Pelicans??
   The pelican population in Illinois,
Wisconsin and the eastern midwest has increased dramatically in the last 15 years.
   Bird studiers (ornithologists) say a lot of this has to do with a weird event that happened at the Chase Lake National Refuge in North Dakota.
   In 2004, 30,000 pelicans (North America's largest population of nesting pelicans) suddenly & for no apparent reason, abandoned their nests in the middle of the nesting season from this North Dakota refuge. An unexplainable migration to the midwest & east -happily toward us.  (https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2004/07/04/in-north-dakota-pelicans).    This event, combined with the increased draining of wet lands in the western part of the united states for agriculture, causing pelicans to head east in search of other suitable waterlands, & the reduced use of pesticides, has caused the eastern midwest population of pelicans to skyrocket! From 2005 to 2013 the breeding population of Wisconsin pelicans has increased 275%! -& is still steadily increasing.
 
   By far, the highest population of pelicans to be seen in Wisconsin is in the east central area. They migrate through the whole state, but only nest in this area; besides a small number on the mississippi river in western Wisconsin.
   Prime spots to see them are from Beaver Dam Lake to Horicon Marsh area & Lake

Winnebago & Lake Butte des Morts area near Green Bay. 

   In Illinois, though they are seen in many areas, they only nest in an area on the Mississippi river, south of Savanna & north of Fulton.
 
Back To The Water
   With the increased sightings of such an awesome bird I've been trying to think of a way to get closer to them.
   Binoculars and telephoto lenses are great and less intrusive, but if you've read any of my other blogs you know I am a proponent of close personal contact with the natural world.
   After my initial floating debris failure I eventually came up with "Spy Goose." Couldn't find any pelican decoys or any suitable simulations. You often see pelicans hanging out near Canadian geese. So I turned a shell type Canadian goose decoy into my disguise.

  Snorkel, fins & my ruse has turn murky water into a cool playground for exploring and photographing.

 
   After getting pretty close to a great blue heron on my maiden trip on the Rock River

I knew I was onto something.  I'm just beginning to explore its sneak potential, got more tweaking to do, but so far I'm liking the results. 
   You can see some of what I've got so far in the YouTube video at the end of this blog. (All shots are actual distance -no telephoto).

Bird Island -Midwestern Galapagos!
  Seeing all these pelicans turned into a quest to get a glimpse of pelican family life. After a couple failed searches for nesting pelicans in Wisconsin & Illinois, we -myself & my endlesssly patient, always encouraging wife Cheryl 😘- found what I call "Bird Island."      (I'm keeping the actual name and

location of this particular island a secret -my disturbance was enough).
   Bird island was to me one of my greatest ever wildlife experiences!
   Me and my Spy Goose friend/cloaking device/invisibilty blanket, got me to the edge of Bird Island.
   The smell of bird poop and the sound of squawking birds was overwhelming! Curiosity got the best of me. Had to take a closer look.
   Exiting the water I was immediately torn between feelings of invasion of privacy and dumbstruck awe as I bounced between saying "Sorry" &..."WOW!"
   Trying to keep my intrusion to a minimum I put my camera on a long selfie stick to get closer shots and walked carefully. Pelican eggs and babies were everywhere, along with young

cormorants and some white egrets. Hundreds of seagulls we're flying above me. I took a few videos and left shortly. Must admit it was hard to pull away from this fantastic display of life!

Get off that Island! 😠
   On a final note; there are rules about harassing nesting birds. I spoke with the Department of Natural Resources on the subject.
   Was told it is a gray area regarding what constitutes harassment; "If the birds are agitated by your presence then back off, use common sense, give them more comfort space."
  I could see from my offshore Spy Goose position -before I set foot on the island- that there was a lot of natural commotion -bickering & squawking going on. My appearance on the island of course caused a reaction. I just expected more and would have backed off with a more adverse reaction. I advanced slowly. If my presence seemed too disturbing, I backed away.

   I was told that persistent presence of predators and human presence such as camping or frequent hikes can cause pelicans to nest elsewhere.
 
   There's a lot to see & enjoy from a distance in a boat with binoculars near nesting islands.

   I know I pushed the limits -trading some of their comfort to satisfy my curiosity. Definitely mixed feelings, but I'd like to think my brief visit was within their tolerance level -causing no lasting harm.
 
Good Trade? 🤔
 
   Maybe I gave them a good trade. They now have a story to tell future generations about the goose (Spy Goose) that came to the edge of their island, birthed a human, who briefly walked amongst them, returned to the water & got swallowed up by another goose that swam away.

Here's the YouTube Spy Goose link: