American White Pelicans

[Danny J Brown]

American white pelicans do their part to control the Asian carp invasion on the Mississippi River. This is my favorite of a series, several of which I shared earlier in the year with friends at BPN. One of the birds in the back has lost eye contact with the photographer but I would call that a "not seeing the forest for the trees" nit.:) Thanks!

Canon 40D; Canon 500/4 + 1.4TC; 1/2000; f6.3; ISO 200; Gitzo GT3530LS/Wimberley II. On the ground with my back against a log and covered with cut-leaf camo fabric.

[Randy Stout]

Danny:

Very nice exposure control on a black/white bird with fairly harsh light.
It always amazes me the fish these guys can swallow. I could use a few on the great lakes!
I wish there weren't quite so many merges, but it certainly does keep ones eye roving around to sort out the group.

Cheers

Randy

[Danny J Brown]

Danny:

Very nice exposure control on a black/white bird with fairly harsh light.
It always amazes me the fish these guys can swallow. I could use a few on the great lakes!
I wish there weren't quite so many merges, but it certainly does keep ones eye roving around to sort out the group.

Cheers

Randy

You are right...the image is a bit confusing. One of my good friends advised me of that back when I took the photo.

[Kiran Poonacha]

what a superb moment in time you have captured Danny.. like it a lot..

[Tim Munsey]

Just how do they swallow? Amazing birds, so huge. Well caught and exposed.

Tim

[Danny J Brown]

Just how do they swallow? Amazing birds, so huge. Well caught and exposed.

Tim

Tim,

The stick their head straight up in the air and the huge fish goes on down. The problem is that sometimes the tail still stays up in the gular pouch, protruding beneath the membrane for awhile until the digestion process is complete. I have a complete photo series of the process.

DB

[Humberto Ramos]

great capture, great composition.

[Grace Scalzo]

Wild scene, well done, Danny. All the birds add to the chaos. Good story telling.

[James Salywoda]

This is great Danny as it shows the typical way these beautiful Pelicans work together when feeding.. The large fish really makes the shot intriguing awesome shot.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Maybe a bit busy and confusing, but yes it does show how these guys congregate for feeding. What I love best about this image is the stretching lower mandible accomodating the size and shape of the fish...cool! Strong contrasty light, but the whites are well controlled. I'm sure the crop is to minimize the many "distractions", but I would still prefer a bit more room around the main subject. Awesome behaviour, thanks for posting!

[Danny J Brown]

Thanks everybody, for taking time to comment.

DB

[Steve Canuel]

Spot on color and nice detail in the whites of the chest. Looks like one heck of a meal and I bet its interesting to watch them get those fish down. The visible yellow eye patch of the one in back counts for eye contact for me.

[Danny J Brown]

Thanks for all the nice comments, folks.

DB