Continued from Page 6
Thomas Jeff erson, one of our more inquisitive pres-
idents, wanted samples for his biology collection.
There was no thought of endangered species in 1805.
In Pacifi c and Clatsop counties, it was a century or
two later before the large avians were noticed. Prior to
recent warming trends, the pelicans had disappeared
from the Northwest landscape.
Now the American white pelicans are here, for
maybe the last eight or 10 years. They fl y north,
mostly in the summers. Graceful, they swoop and
dive, twisting and turning on top of waves or passing
overhead in fl ocks, much like the Canada goose with
their V-shaped formations.
They tend to fl y in even lines, low over the Pacifi c
Ocean or the waters of Willapa Bay, fi shing of course,
hunting fi nned prey. But then, their diving hardly
appears graceful. These pelicans seem to fall out of the
sky.
A small population winters over in Eastern Wash-
ington. That warmer climate and accessibility to food
has turned the northern lands into a pleasant holdover
for one of the largest of North American birds. Indeed,
their size eclipses the bald eagle. Of course, the eagle
has its own story.
As a kid in the 1950s
and 1960s, bald Eagles
were rare. Pesticide use had
softened their egg shells
and endangered the mighty
raptor. The symbol of the
American West was passing
away faster than morning
fog that clings to our ocean-
front beaches, disappearing
as the heat of day overrides
the colder coastal air.
The bald Eagle has since
become far more common.
But in Washington, the Amer-
ican white pelican is still
endangered. Certainly, they
are rare. I remember seeing
my fi rst only a few years ago,
as I drove over Youngs Bay,
traveling south. I was thrilled
at the sight, but little did I
imagine that these birds were a
moniker of changing times.
On this morning’s news, the
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frequent stories of a changing climate. Wildfi res in
California, and even in the Northwest, have brought
drought to over a third of the country. Perhaps the peli-
cans will have the last laugh.
Other than during mating season, their range is pre-
dominantly over water. Plowing out a two-foot radius
bowl in softer sands or loose gravel with their impres-
sive beaks, they lay two eggs before engaging in a 60
to 70 day incubation.
A gregarious bird, the pelican often travels and for-
ages in a large fl ock, sometimes traveling long dis-
tances in a V-formation. Pelicans lower their bills and
fl ap their wings to drive fi sh toward shore, corralling
small fi sh . Their nesting is frequently endangered by
four-legged predators: bald eagles, large owls and by
their own young, who fi ght lethally with their siblings.
Venture into the peninsula’s Willapa National Wild-
life Refuge to spot these large birds. Here they come,
gliding eff ortlessly just a few feet above the water,
curling in accordance with the shape of the waves – or
diving for dinner. Graceful, large and a pleasure to the
eye, these white bodied fi shers please the birder in all
of us. How lucky we are to be here at land’s end.
A young
bald eagle
sits atop a
hollow tree
trunk.
Andy
Cameron
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THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022 // 7