If you go to Terminal Blvd., and walk up along Adobe Creek you can see the White Pelicans at around 10 a.m. In the Bay Area White Pelican numbers are at their greatest in August and September.
INTERESTING FACTS
- American White Pelicans are one of the largest of the boreal birds. They can weigh as much as 30 pounds and their wing spans can exceed nine feet.
- Because of pesticides, human disturbance, and the draining of wetlands, this species is in decline. The number of active colonies has dropped sharply in recent decades.
- The bill can hold 3 gallons of water, and after the fish have been caught the bill is pointed downward allowing the water to drain, and then the bill is raised and the bird swallows.
- A group of pelicans has many collective nouns, including a "brief", "pod", "pouch", "scoop", and "squadron" of pelicans
(Facts from: "field guide to birds of North America)
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