Pelican at Rest

[FootLoose]

I took my time approaching this pelican - not engaging in eye contact, walking indirectly and generally hoping it thought I was ignoring it - and managed to get within a couple of metres of it. Slowly sat down, and started taking pictures: it seemed quite calm and relaxed. After about 20 minutes I slowly moved away and was taking some shots of a rock pool when a wildlife person arrived. She asked me to stand back because she believed the pelican was sick because of the way it was sitting, and she was going to capture it and take it in for care. She walked directly up to it and the bird was alarmed took flight.



(Canon 600D, EF24-105 F4L, 160, f16, 200, EV-0/33. Polariser attached.)

Do any of the pelican experts here know if they sit like this when they are sick? It seemed ok to me: its eyes were bright and it was alert, and it certainly had no trouble flying off when alarmed.

[Saorsa]

That is a perfectly normal position for a resting Pelican. If the wildlife person thought it was sick based on that position, they were wrong.

Here is a Brown Pelican in a similar resting position

[IzzieK]

The only difference I can see between the two shots is that the shot of Greg is resting on something un-level underneath the bird. Good story, Greg and great capture too. Very sharp. Is it the position of the feet that made that person think that the bird is sick? You'll never know now, but she must be red-faced after that statement and the bird flew.

[Shadowman]

Position of the bird probably had nothing to do with it, more likely the bird's response to your approach that made the wildlife person believe the animal was sick. I've seen animals totally unresponsive and the minute you touch them they are off like a shot.

[Saorsa]

They will act very quickly when movement is directly toward them and eye contact is made. Take that approach and you are an instant threat.

I take small steps in various directions with pauses to shoot a few shots when approaching wildlife. It's surprising how close you can get if they just consider you some sort of funny grazing animal.

[Brownbear]

Gorgeous image Greg! Amazing detail.

Brian, your pelican is also gorgeous!

[Saorsa]

The only difference I can see between the two shots is that the shot of Greg is resting on something un-level underneath the bird. Good story, Greg and great capture too. Very sharp. Is it the position of the feet that made that person think that the bird is sick? You'll never know now, but she must be red-faced after that statement and the bird flew.

I find there are a lot of people who care very much about animals but don't know much about them.

[IzzieK]

I find there are a lot of people who care very much about animals but don't know much about them.

They are called armchair quarterbacks, Brian...

[Wavelength]

great image; since i am not much familiar with pelicans, i wonder why its eye look so projected? is there something wrong with that? i doubt especially when i got a comparison with Sarosa's input
Regards

[bnnrcn]

Very nice image

[jamn4ex]

Those are both great ! I too have approached wildlife in the same manner you described.

[Saorsa]

great image; since i am not much familiar with pelicans, i wonder why its eye look so projected? is there something wrong with that? i doubt especially when i got a comparison with Sarosa's input
Regards

They are two different species of Pelican, Brown and White. The white does have the yellow surround on the eye and in this instance may have had it's eyes a bit wider open as it was being very watchful. It does seem to project a bit more than a brown pelican.

[FootLoose]

Thankyou everyone for commenting.

Nandakumar, I see these pelicans every time I go down to the beach (which is most days). If there were anything really amiss with its eye I probably would have noticed. What I haven't seen before is a wildlife rescue person down there. I wonder though, if some tourist unfamiliar with the birds saw this one stretching its beak and thought it was being ill and then called her...

BTW, the Australian pelican is only a middle-sized bird as far as pelicans go, but apparently it has the longest beak of all pelican species. http://members.optusnet.com.au/~alreadman/pelican.htm http://www.ask.com/wiki/Australian_P...apn&ap=ask.com

[Dave Humphries]

Nice shot Greg,

I think that wildlife rescue person ought to recruit you (as a consultant) to teach them a thing or two about how to approach their patients

Mind you, I can't talk - I once tried all those techniques and the grey heron I was stalking, it was some 30m clear across a river - and it still took flight

[FootLoose]

Thanks, Dave. If I see her fail again, I will offer her my advice

[IzzieK]

Brian....I'm always amazed at how some birds retract their feet when they fly... Beautiful shot!

They are two different species of Pelican, Brown and White. The white does have the yellow surround on the eye and in this instance may have had it's eyes a bit wider open as it was being very watchful. It does seem to project a bit more than a brown pelican.