Pelicans and the Sunsets

We got to see a number of great sunsets in the Keys, and often, the pelicans helped to make them extra special!

Pelican Sunset

One of the things I never got tired of was watching the pelicans glide so low to the water.  At times, they maybe only had about a foot of air space between them and the water.  Add the sun reflection on the water, buoys in the foreground, and you know you are someplace special.

Flyin’ Low

Here’s a great profile shot of a gliding pelican. Talk about aerodynamic!  Since I’m not looking directly into the setting sun, you can see more of the blue color mixing with the orange from the sunset.

Sunset Pelican Flyin’ Low

Are you tired of pelicans gliding just above the water?  Somehow, I never got tired of watching them!  Be glad I’m only sharing some of my images of them!

Low Silhouette

Altho this is another shot of the pelican, I think the sky sort of takes the starring role in this image, even tho I am including it in this pelican post.  There were more clouds in the sky on this evening, which adds another dimension.

Flying High at Sunset

As the sun dropped below the horizon, the pelicans decided to soar.  To capture the sky, the pelicans are rather small in this image.  Can you tell there are 3 pelicans flying in formation?  They did that formation flying so well, at times I felt they’d give The Blue Angels a run for their money!

Enjoy!

 

Pelicans During the Day

During our stay in the Keys, I became entranced with pelicans.  They hung around the campground in which we were staying in substantial numbers, and I had several opportunities to photograph them.

The Star

This guy is a brown pelican, and exemplifies what I love about these birds as a photographer – they are natural hams!  I loved his pose, along with the wonderfully blue water of the Gulf of Mexico behind him.

Pelican Portrait

From what I can tell from my little bird book, this guy is also a brown pelican, but this guy is considered a juvenile – definitely more brown.  Love that blue/green water in the background, too!

Pelican in Paradise 

I love the laid-back peacefulness of this image.  The empty dock behind him, and the clear waters beneath him.  It truly is a pelican paradise, and not bad for humans, either!

Pelican on a Rock

This grouping of rocks was a favorite perch for several of the pelicans, altho only one guy was there when I shot this.  It gave them a look of the more open area of the Gulf, so perhaps they could spot food easier?  I really don’t know, but he does look cool, just sitting there staring out to sea.

Enjoy!

 

On The Pier – Gulf Shores, AL

One morning while we were at Gulf Shores, AL, we took a walk down The Pier at Gulf Shores.  Altho there were several fishermen (and a woman or two) out there, they were actually not all that social, and most went out of their way not to make eye contact with us.  If we had been in the northeast, I would have thought that it was that New England stand-off-ish-ness that I’ve read about.  It seemed pretty clear, tho, that they had us pegged as touristas, and didn’t want to have much to do with us.  However, the pelicans on The Pier were certainly accommodating to having their photo taken, and had no problem making eye contact!

Pelican Perch

This first guy was more than willing to having his photo taken, and patiently posed for me as I walked around him to get at his best angle!

Pelican Profile

This guy seemed to be a bit of a ham!  He carefully posed, moving around (but not at all skittish of me) until he presented me with what he thought was his “best side”.  And, I agree – a great pose!

Sunning on The Pier

I never really thought about pelican varieties, but clearly, there are different ones.  This guy’s head was covered in pale yellow feathers.  Or, if not a different variety, perhaps this is a young pelican, not quite an adult?  I don’t know, but he, too, was more than happy to pose with a bit of the pier in the background so we know exactly where he was at!

Enjoy!



Cruising the Mangrove Cove in Elizabeth Bay on Isabela Island – Galapagos Islands

This was the second part of our morning’s panga ride. 

Cloud Reflection

As we cruised up to the mangrove cove in our pangas, I noticed this great reflection of the clouds in the water.

Swimming Among the Mangroves

Once again, here are the ever so cool sea turtles, swimming along in the clear water!  What a life!

Sea Lion in a Tree

Here’s something you don’t see every day – a sea lion just camped out in the mangrove trees!

A Big Guy

This guy is one that Jeff captured with his camera, coasting along close to the bottom of the sea – it was fairly shallow at this point.

Close Reflection

I really liked this image of a leaf floating on the water with the mangrove leaves reflecting in the water around and below it.  Now, some of the leaves actually grew below the surface, so this is really kind of an optical illusion – is it a reflection or leaves growing below the surface?  I honestly don’t recall!

Golden Cowrays

Aren’t these just so cool?  I thought these were manta rays, but they are something called Golden Cowrays (I have no idea where the name came from!).  I thought they looked so cool just gliding along below the surface.  I lost count of how many of them there were!

Pelicans at Sea

I loved the image of these pelicans just sort of hanging out on the water a short distance from our panga.

Sea Lion Waving

And, finally, here’s a little sea lion waving goodbye to us!

Enjoy!

 

Last Big Outing – Elizabeth Bay – Isabela Island – Galapagos Islands

Altho we have a bit more to see, this was our last big outing – a panga ride in Elizabeth Bay.  Let’s get started….

Water Lines

Before we got on the panga, I enjoyed some wildlife along the Beagle, our boat.  This pelican just peacefully floated alongside us.  Not only did I like his reflection in the relatively calm waters, I love the look of the lines of the water – just flowing along.

Reflective Dancing

I call these birds Jesus Birds because they seem to walk on water – however, I’ve come to find out their formal name is Elliot’s Storm Petrol.  This is one of the clearest images I was lucky enough to take of this little guy – he’s balancing on one foot at this moment, and the reflection is lovely.

Leaving the Beagle

Here’s a view of our friends leaving the Beagle for our outing.  Love the look of the Beagle and the scenery!

Great Blue Heron

Here’s one of our last views of this wonderful bird as he’s sitting on the rocky shore enjoying the morning!

Blue-Footed Boobie

One of the animals I most looked forward to seeing was the blue-footed boobie – not quite sure why, but I sure am glad I got to see a number of these guys!

Pelican Point

I love this image of this pelican – it’s sort of a quiet, reflective image.

Drama at Sea

We had some drama on our last big outing, too.  I purposefully processed these in black & white as a sort of journalistic perspective.  We came across a frigatebird that apparently got too wet, and was waterlogged in the sea.  Another frigatebird hovered nearby, but I’m not certain it meant to help.

Floundering

Here’s another image of the frigatebird in trouble.  The wing of the other frigatebird is in the upper right corner of the image.

Rescue at Sea

Here’s the image of our guide, Fabrizio, rescuing the poor bird.  He used a towel to grab it, so he didn’t inadvertently injure it.  It was very, very scared.  He ended up placing it on the rocky shore just behind the panga.

Beagle

I really liked this image of a pelican and our boat.  I thought it looked especially reflective when I processed it in black & white.

Flying Away

I love this image of a pelican flying away from us.  The perfect position of his wings is just too cool.

Escaping the Surf

Here’s another cool pelican shot.  This guy was just sitting on the rocks, hanging out, when the surf started coming in.  Once it started rushing over the rock on which he was sitting, he decided it was time to go, and I was lucky enough to capture the moment he took wing!

More to come when we cruise thru the mangrove cove growing out of lava rocks in the water, but for now….

Enjoy!



 

Pelicans On Parade – Punta Vincente Rocca – Isabela Island – Galapagos Islands

 

It took a while before we saw any pelicans that I felt I could get a good shot of.  Generally, I was getting a lot of photo ops like this –

 Wheels Up

It does look cool, but I really wanted to get to see one perched somewhere, instead of landing on the water, floating, or taking off!

Pelican Evil Eye

But, on our panga ride, we were lucky enough to get to see one, relatively close up.  However, this guy seemed to have a bit of an attitude!  Check out the look he seems to be giving us!

Knowing Look

Here’s another look that seems to be letting us know he’s in on some secret joke or something…..is our panga heading into troubled waters…..or could there be another pelican overhead waiting to bomb us (ick!)?

Direct Stare

This one may be my favorite – just staring at us, seeming to dare us to do something.  We didn’t do anything, but I’d kind of like to know what he had in mind!

Enjoy!