American White Pelicans, Mississippi Valley, Green Island Wetlands, Iowa
Paddling with a kayak in the backwaters and wetlands of the Mississippi River is a great way for finding peace of mind. The occasional noise of a train far away on the other side of the river doesn’t take much away of the tranquillity we can find in a place like that. There is a bird that seems to know about that. Their movements are smooth, their flight is graceful, and their fishing activities are a collective effort that is effective and often executed quietly. The American White Pelican fits perfectly into a landscape as we can find it in the Upper Mississippi Valley.
While most of the ducks took off long before they came into the range of my lens, the pelicans let me come very close while I drifted slowly towards their resting place. The keel on top of their big bill tells us that we are in the breeding season. It’s not there during winter time.
A great paddle trip ended with another pleasant experience. When I arrived back at the boat ramp at Fish Lake Road in the Green Island Wetlands, I noticed that a RV camper had pulled into the parking lot. Shortly after I was out of my kayak the owner of the camper offered me to carry the boat up the ramp and later helped me to lift it onto my car. I learned that he is the owner of CrawDaddy Outdoors, an outdoor equipment store in Waverly, Iowa. Thank you Darrin, you are a real sport!
Nikon Z6II, Nikon FTZ adapter, Sigma 150-600mm / f5-6.3 DG OS HSM S, @ 600 mm, 1/5000 s, f/9, ISO 640