Ok, neither of these are strictly parrot related, but since they're feathered relatives hopeully it's ok to include them here... I'm keen to share them with bird people!
So, I love keeping an eye out for exotic birds when I'm out and about, but living in the UK we're not the greatest when it comes to species diversity, especially when it comes to larger birds, so a trip to the US is always a treat. This summer I had a couple of great experiences, and a camera on hand to capture them.
First up, I've always had a soft spot for pelicans, and usually get to see the odd one visiting my Dad, who lives in Los Altos in California. This year we were looking for a suitable beach for my young niece to build a sandcastle (holiday priorities!) and spot an unusually large number of brown pelicans sailing along the coastline near to where we were planning to stop. I noticed there was a bird colony in the far distance so, whilst the rest of the family busied themselves with sandcastle duties, slipped away with my camera. Honestly I was assuming they'd be gulls or cormorants, but turned out to be all pelicans - I guesstimated around 200 of them, with at least another 100 drifting in later in the afternoon. It was one of the most breathtaking sights I've ever experienced. I managed to get pretty close without any apparent concern on the part of the birds and it felt like a scene out of Jurassic Park being on my own at the foot of a giant, sheer cliff face with dozens of huge, prehistoric looking creatures soaring over my head. I felt really quite humbled by it. These are a few of the pictures:
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The second was a week later, up the coast in the San Juan Islands in Washington State. This was supposed to be a long weekend of sailing, scuppered somewhat by the lack of any wind whatsoever, but more than made up for by the wealth of wildlife we were able to see in the less inhabited parts of the island. This fellow was truly magnificent: we stumbled upon him stationed on his rock in the middle of the ocean, scanning the water for signs of marine life and every five minutes or so skimming along the surface, wheeling around and returning to his spot. There were sea lions and sea otters in the water directly beneath, both presumably big enough not to worry about the proximity of a large apex predator and, like the pelicans, he was totally uninterested in the sight of us trying to look inconspicuous in the bows of the boat. Here are the few shots I was able to get - we didn't want to get too close for fear of stressing him or ruining his chances of dinner but he did a couple of great fly bys for us:
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So, I love keeping an eye out for exotic birds when I'm out and about, but living in the UK we're not the greatest when it comes to species diversity, especially when it comes to larger birds, so a trip to the US is always a treat. This summer I had a couple of great experiences, and a camera on hand to capture them.
First up, I've always had a soft spot for pelicans, and usually get to see the odd one visiting my Dad, who lives in Los Altos in California. This year we were looking for a suitable beach for my young niece to build a sandcastle (holiday priorities!) and spot an unusually large number of brown pelicans sailing along the coastline near to where we were planning to stop. I noticed there was a bird colony in the far distance so, whilst the rest of the family busied themselves with sandcastle duties, slipped away with my camera. Honestly I was assuming they'd be gulls or cormorants, but turned out to be all pelicans - I guesstimated around 200 of them, with at least another 100 drifting in later in the afternoon. It was one of the most breathtaking sights I've ever experienced. I managed to get pretty close without any apparent concern on the part of the birds and it felt like a scene out of Jurassic Park being on my own at the foot of a giant, sheer cliff face with dozens of huge, prehistoric looking creatures soaring over my head. I felt really quite humbled by it. These are a few of the pictures:
The second was a week later, up the coast in the San Juan Islands in Washington State. This was supposed to be a long weekend of sailing, scuppered somewhat by the lack of any wind whatsoever, but more than made up for by the wealth of wildlife we were able to see in the less inhabited parts of the island. This fellow was truly magnificent: we stumbled upon him stationed on his rock in the middle of the ocean, scanning the water for signs of marine life and every five minutes or so skimming along the surface, wheeling around and returning to his spot. There were sea lions and sea otters in the water directly beneath, both presumably big enough not to worry about the proximity of a large apex predator and, like the pelicans, he was totally uninterested in the sight of us trying to look inconspicuous in the bows of the boat. Here are the few shots I was able to get - we didn't want to get too close for fear of stressing him or ruining his chances of dinner but he did a couple of great fly bys for us:
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I love your Pelican pics, they look like Pterodactyls!! 
