Roll Call

Today on the main stage (the big lake), a newcomer: A Brown Pelican maintained what seemed like a constant 40-foot elevation above the water's surface by alternating a steady flapping of its great wings with holding them still in two graceful arches, banking in circles, all the time looking for fish in the water below. (The average wingspan of a Brown Pelican is about seven feet. Imagine someone as tall as Kareem-Abdul Jabbar lying down; that's a Brown Pelican's wingspan tip to tip.)

When something would catch its eye, it would shoot its feet straight up in the air and its beak straight down. It would then dive-bomb into the water with a splash. One time I actually saw it come up with a fish, which it tossed a little ways up in the air to position it correctly for swallowing. After gulping it down, it circled back into the air to repeat its elegant ritual.