American White Pelicans, Mississippi River, Lower Sabula Lake, Iowa
It was so nice to see some colors again after a gray and nasty cold day yesterday. It was a good Sunday for checking out spring migration of the birds along the Mississippi again.
I have never seen so many pelicans fishing together before. This squadron contained more than a hundred birds, with many more on the water around, but choices had to be made what to leave in the frame and what not. First it looked and sounded like they all were fighting for the fish but pretty soon it was clear that it was a well organized collective effort by these American White Pelicans, as you can see in the second picture. I don’t know who was in charge to give the command, but suddenly they all took off and flew across the water to a different spot and started all over hunting for fish again.
All photos: Nikon Z6II, Nikon NIKKOR Z 600 f/6.3 VR S, Nikon Z Teleconverter TC-1.4x. @840 mm