See that map? It’s all about American White Pelicans. The orange/peach-colored areas are where they go for breeding. The yellow areas are part of their natural migration patterns. The blue areas are where they like to call home. Look in all that white area. Can you find Indiana? Take off -25 points if you can’t. Indiana is one of the states that normally don’t see pelicans. That’s not to say that there aren’t occasional exceptions, but generally if one sees a pelican in Indiana it’s because it’s gotten lost.
So, how do we explain almost 40 pelicans flying in over our heads and landing in front of us at Eagle Creek this past Monday? Our best guess, which is not the least bit scientific, is that Hurricane Helene blew them off course. It could also be that these were younger pelicans who got lost during the storm, but we didn’t have the equipment to card any of the birds so we can’t be sure. Nonetheless, they were here and we took pictures of them. There are also some blue Herron, egrets, and a whole bunch of seagulls who weren’t expecting the invasion. I’ll let the pictures tell the story. You can put on your David Attenborough hat and narrate as you wish.
