American White Pelican, Mississippi River, Mud Lake, Iowa
The weather is just right for spending time on the Mississippi River in a kayak during the evenings. A couple days ago I came across this solitary juvenile American White Pelican. Usually a larger group roosts far away, almost on the other side of the river, but this lonely guy was perched on a log right next to the entrance of the marina at Mud Lake. The bird let me come very close but kept an eye on me while I was drifting carefully around it, trying to get the sun behind my back. I shot a lot of pictures with different backgrounds but this photo was my final choice, where good light, background, and gesture of the pelican came all together in the frame.
Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, @ 600 mm, 1/800 s, f/8, ISO 200