By Vladimir Brezina
Performers: Two Brown Pelicans, Pelecanus occidentalis
(It’s nice to think that they were a male and a female. But it’s very hard to tell male and female pelicans apart by external appearance alone.)
Venue: A piling just off John’s Pass Boardwalk, Madeira Beach, Florida (near St. Petersburg, on the Gulf coast)
Date: February 23, 2012, as the sun set…
... kayaked the waters around New York for more than 15 years in his red Feathercraft folding kayak. He was originally from (the former) Czechoslovakia and lived in the U.K. and California before settling down in New York. He was a neuroscientist at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. He died in 2016.
... is a kayaker and technology researcher at Nemertes Research. She's an erstwhile engineer, particle physicist, and science fiction writer. She was born in California and has lived in Italy, Norway, Hawaii, and a few other places. She currently resides in New York City.
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Wind Against Current 
Like a trip back through time, these prehistoric beauties. Looking at these two makes the theory that birds are dinosaurs seem, well, weirdly obvious.
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Yes! Especially the awkward-looking way they fly, which always reminds me of pterodactyls:
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You got some marvelous captures!
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Enough for several more posts, forthcoming! (Not just on pelicans, I hasten to add!)
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That coppery color on one of ’em is beautiful. Did you name them?
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Didn’t get to know them well enough—this entire sequence took only a couple of minutes…
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so beautiful
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The pelicans get the credit!
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Great photos, Vlad! I saw pelicans in Panama but they were all brown; don’t know that I’ve ever seen them with white feathers.
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Well, I am not much of a bird expert, but the online sources seem to agree (for once) on this issue. I quote:
“Adults have silvery grey-brown body plumage, with blackish flight feathers and a yellow and white head with chestnut nape and hind neck. In adult birds the plumage plays a significant role in communication. During the breeding period, prior to nesting, the hind neck becomes vibrant dark reddish brown. In the winter or during the non-breeding period the head and neck are mainly white.
“Juveniles are generally brown above and white below and it takes them about three years to attain their adult plumage.”
So this, for example, would seem to show an adult (in non-breeding plumage) and two juveniles:
And the Pas de Deux itself was performed by two adults, one in non-breeding and the other in breeding plumage. (Still don’t know whether they were males or females, though…)
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Wow, thanks for taking the time to explore this and clarify! I guess I saw only juveniles in their brown plumage; they were diving in and out of the Panama Canal between ships passing – as the water lowered, more fish were available.
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The locks concentrating the fish for them? Clever!
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Wow, these are spectacular, Vlad. Pas de Deux 9 made my heart beat a little faster! And yes, echoing Out Walking the Dog, they really do make the link to dinosaurs awfully credible.
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Thanks, Ailsa! I really like Pas de Deux 9 too. It was a lucky shot. I didn’t realize the pelicans were in that position until much later when I uploaded the photos onto the computer…
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STUNNING! My personal favorite bird, an thanks for taking me back the Gulf where I’ve spent a bit of time.
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Well, in that case do I have photos for you! More pelicans, other birds, Florida kayaking… Still sorting them out. Watch this space!
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Oh my goodness…what fabulous photos! They look so sweet together!
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Yes, it’s hard not to anthropomorphize… :-)
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Terrific shot.
~Anne
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Thanks, Anne! Glad you like it.
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Quite fantastic, really. I also agree about their flight.
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They are wonderful birds, all round… my favorite (apart from herons, maybe)
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Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
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Thank you!
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What a striking couple they make. Love the series.
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They knew how to make an impression!
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9 and 10 are incredible. The rest are pretty good too!
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I showed so many because I wanted to tell a story, show the movement… maybe I should just get a video camera ;-)
Everybody likes #9—the heart shape of the two heads. I’ve used it so much, so I didn’t want to use it again in the new post…
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