Pelicans can be found all over the world, but the ones that I like to see live in an area on the central coast of New South Wales in Australia. There is a spot where the local fish and chip shop has made a daily habit of feeding the fish scraps to the pelicans which frequent the area. The practice has become a tourist attraction and you can get quite close to the birds as they wait for their afternoon feeding time.
Pelicans are large and look quite awkward when they are on land, but they are hugely graceful in flight. They have a wide wing span and sometimes even seem to hover on the drift of the wind. They can swoop suddenly and with great speed when they dive for their own catch of fish in the water.
There is a picture at the end of this post of a pelican. It is a close up because that is just as close as we were standing when we took the picture. The pelican is looking directly at the camera. Its wings are folded against its body. Its beak is large enough to hold several fish at once although it usually swallows just one whole fish at a time. Dogs are a threat to pelicans on the land and tangled fishing lines and plastic bags are a threat in the water.
I like pelicans, but not when they are flying or perched directly overhead. If you think that the droppings of seagulls and pigeons are a nuisance, the white excrement of a pelican is downright dangerous.
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