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| Juvenile Brown Pelican Having a Rough Morning |
I arrived at the Cliff House just in time to catch a bit of a feeding frenzy just offshore. In the water were countless cormorants and gulls, as well as numerous brown pelicans and elegant terns. The pelicans were not dive-bombing as they do when there's a real feeding frenzy, but the terns were, and the cormorants were diving from the surface to go after the fish.
While I was watching, I noticed a young brown pelican who'd drifted into the surf zone and could hardly believe my eyes when he got caught by a wave and was tumbled all the way into the beach. It reminded me of something that happened to me at Waikiki Beach when I was around five years old. I still remember the helpless feeling of being caught, and of seeing nothing but water, sun, sand, and foam as I was tumbled to shore, holding my breath to the breaking point.
The pelican finally got its footing on the beach, but appeared to have injured its wing in the tumult. Once again, the shorebreak caught him and the current dragged him south. By the time I got over there he'd managed to climb up onto a rock to catch his breath. This is the rock that I've often seen black oystercatchers and other birds feeding and bathing on, as there is a small pool on top of the rock. The pelican didn't dally for long, as high surf threatened to inundate its position. Instead, the pelican leaped back into the ocean and started paddling for all he was worth toward Seal Rocks.
The pelican eventually found a place where he could get a foothold and climbed up, padding over the mussel beds into an alcove that turned out to be a dead end. Back he went into the ocean to try to paddle to a better landing area, calmly letting the current do much of the work. Soon enough, he found another good spot and climbed up to join a gaggle of cormorants, and for now at least, find respite and safety.
Animals are the original stoics. The pelican didn't seem flustered at all despite surviving its potentially fatal ordeal. It followed its instincts and whatever knowledge pelicans glean in their lives to calmly assess its situation and work toward a solution. No panic, no self-pity. Just a day in the life, and an exciting story to tell his pals at the pelican bar.
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| Most of the birds were out in the ocean, but a young Heermann's gull managed to snag a mole crab from beneath the sand. |
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| There was lots of activity on the water around Seal Rocks, but it was short-lived. Maybe fifteen minutes after I got there it was all over, and the birds got out of the water to dry off on the rocks. |
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| Seal Rock Rest Stop |
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