Brown Pelicans and the common Bottle Nose Dolphin share the same habitat and some of the same diet. The Brown Pelican is quite smart and has learned to follow one of the best fish catching mammals.

The Brown Pelican or Pelecanus occidentalis is quite common in Florida but faced extinction due to pesticides that caused the egg shells to be thin. They are still considered threatened.

The Brown pelican is an excellent flier. I love to watch them fly over the waves at the beach. They fly in straight line formations just a few inches above the water dodging the waves in surf. They seem to just barely miss the waves as the swells crash and turn into white water. It is an amazing sight and can be very acrobatic as they dodge wave after wave.

The Brown Pelican is also an excellent fish catcher. They will fly high above the water looking for fish and when a meal is spotted, they fall from the sky at great speed, plunging into the water below, scooping up their prize fish in their pouch. You can often see the fish struggling in the bird’s pouch as the Pelican lifts it’s head and shakes it’s catch down.

The Brown Pelican is also an opportunist, and will try and steal food from just about anywhere. This has led to trouble with the Brown Pelican and Fisherman. The Brown Pelican will often take the fisherman’s bait as it hits the water and swallow the hook, line and sinker. I have seen quite a few Brown Pelican’s with hooks protruding from their brown pouches and sometimes from their brown webbed feet. The pelicans will also follow commercial fisherman’s boats by the dozen. They know that the commercial fisherman will often throw unwanted catches back into the water and they are right on top of it, often catching the food before it hits the water.

They will also follow dolphin as they round up a meal. I love to watch these two, it is one of the best shows you could see and it beats anything that Seaworld has to offer. The Dolphin of course are very intelligent and watching them hunt down a fish is just amazing. Someone else has learned that this can be a great time to maybe try and steal a meal. Can you guess who? The Brown Pelican of course.

The dolphin will surface, blow air from it’s blow hole and then disappear under the surface of the water as they try and coral their prey. Once the prey is cornered the show begins. The Dolphin uses a burst of speed to surprise the fish. This is often done is shallow water, so quite suddenly you will see a huge wake as the dolphin speeds towards it’s prey. The dolphin will often hit the fish into the air with it’s nose, and then leap out of the water and catch the fish before it can fall back into the water. All of this takes place in less than 5 seconds. The Brown Pelican is often right on top of the dolphin waiting to steal that fish as it flies into the air. The Pelican is a good indicator of exactly where the dolphin will surface and catch it’s food. They can see all of the action happening beneath them. I was lucky enough to catch the whole act with my digital camera. Here are some Pictures. Enjoy!

The Dolphin surfaces next to the pelican.

The Dolphin explodes out of the water as the Pelican moves in closer!

The Dolphin’s head breaks the surface of the water and if you look close you can see the fish in it’s mouth as the pelican tries to fly in and steal it!

Not to long ago, I got to visit one of my favorite birding places and see some of my favorite birds. The Florida Scrub Jay!

Everytime I get to go to Lyonia preserve, it is a treat. The wildlife at Lyonia preserve is always ready to entertain the visitors that hike the trails. My favorite inhabitant is the Florida Scrub Jay. These birds are always so curious and fearless. They will often appear from out of nowhere. There might suddenly be a bird sitting in a tree right next to you and he wasn’t there just a moment ago. The Florida Scrub Jay is very stealthy when they want to be. They are now listed as endangered due to habitat loss. They always pose seem to be questioning you just with their looks. Enjoy these photos that I took with my digital camera.