rare to these parts has been seen around the Coast Guard Station in Wendy Park.
Brown Pelican in Cleveland. What has been described as a rare Brown Pelican has appeared
in and around Cleveland. So on a rainy hazy day I grabbed the camera and went looking.
Sure enough, Pelecanus occidentalis, was sitting out on the break wall with cormorants,
geese, ducks and seagulls.
Some have suggested it should be named "scruffy."
They are the only species of pelican that is strictly marine in habitat, never found more
than 20 miles out to sea or inland on fresh water. They prefer shallow inshore waters such
as estuaries and bays.
They are the only species of pelican that hunts with such dramatic plunging dives. After
capturing the fish they rise to the surface and drain the water from the pouch. The
pelican's beak can "really hold more than its belly can". The pouch holds about three
gallons, the stomach about one gallon. They also take some invertebrates. So if you get a
chance, check "Scruffy" out.
Some day you will tell your great-grand-kids, yeah "It was a brown pelican, yeah a big
bird, that caught fish, in their... Hey, no listen to what was I saying. What? Oh, yeah,
what was I saying, oh never mind..."
.