Kamikaze Pelican Coming in Hot: While gazing upon the calm waters of Bayou St. John one evening, this spectacle comes out of nowhere, diving bill first into the water in hunt of a little dinner. I was able to capture the crazy bird as it popped out of the water causing a few deep ripples on the surface. (ISO 100, 55mm, f/6.3, 1/80)
Number 1 for Take-off: As this kamikaze recovered from the previous dive, it sat and contemplated it's next stop as the last attempt to acquire dinner was a failed mission. (ISO 100, 55mm, f/5.6, 1/100)
Emergency Departure: Before the bird could get the clearance for take-off, that missed dinner (probably a catfish) jumped out of the water to give the kamikaze pelican a piece of it's mind; needless to say the sudden startle caused the bird to execute short-field take-off procedures for immediate departure. (ISO 100, 55mm, f/5.6, 1/160)
Flaps Raised, Gear Coming Up: This transition shows the bird with it's wings fully extended and tucking it's webbed feet out of the water. This position is ironically very similar to how actual aircraft appear as they "clean-up" the plane once off of the ground. (the term dirty refers to flight with wheels and flaps down). Raising the flaps on the wings first and then retracting the landing gear in that order. It makes you wonder if the Wright Brothers saw these same configurations in nature as they designed the first vehicles of flight. (ISO 100, 55mm, f/5.6, 1/200)
Clear of Active Water Runway and Departing Pattern: The kamikaze pelican is all "cleaned-up" (feet raised and securely tucked to reduce drag) and flies on to it's next destination as the sun sets on Bayou St. John; flight plan unknown. (ISO 100, 55mm, f/5.6, 1/250)
Part II: New Orleans - Off the Beaten Path
Exploration is just something I like to do, especially in my own backyard. This mini-series features a Louisiana celebrity, the brown pelican, captured while diving and taking off in the calm waters of Bayou St. John one peaceful evening in December of 2011. Quite the spectacle to see this feature in it's environment.
I have noted the brown pelican's evolution of flight (or hunt) in the captions below the
featured photographs with actual aviation vernacular.
The brown pelican is the state's official bird and can be spotted about bodies of water, mostly near coastal and bay areas in the southern and western United States and as far as western Canada, northern Peru, and
Brazil. It is the smallest of the eight species of pelicans and is one of only two species that feeds by
diving into the water with a gular pouch for collecting fish and rain water. Fish are soon swallowed
into the stomach (the center of gravity) after capture so that the brown pelican can
maintain balanced flight for speeds of up to 30 MPH.
