The noble Brown Pelican

Happy Biodiversity Day

I have been writing a “Bird A Day” post on Twitter/X (@petchary) with the day’s bird from the Audubon calendar I bought, and a little description. Due to the recent upside-downness of my life, I have fallen weeks behind. I might try to play catch-up.

But today, I thought I must post the dear Brown Pelican, a bird I am extremely fond of. Pelicanus occidentalis are gawky, at first sight, and not particularly beautiful. They are all beak (or bill, if you prefer). But did you know that the Brown Pelican is the National Bird of Saint Martin, Barbados, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the Turks and Caicos Islands - and the official State Bird of Louisiana (where it became virtually extinct because of the chemical DDT, but was reintroduced successfully)? The noble Brown Pelican appears on the flag, seal, or coat of arms of each? So a lot of people do think they have something special.

I love watching them glide smoothly inches above the water, without actually touching it. Then, they turn themselves into chunky but aerodynamic packages, and dive at high speed into the water. Sometimes they come up with nothing, and rest back on the surface. At other times they catch a fish, letting the sea water out of the big flappy pouch under their beaks before they gulp it down.

In Jamaica, Brown Pelicans are of course protected by law (all our birds are) but its nesting habitat is under some threat, in particular mangroves. Today, International Biodiversity Day, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) published its first report on mangrove ecosystems. It does not make for cheerful reading": the entire Caribbean is marked in yellow on the IUCN map, meaning that it is “Vulnerable” and “facing collapse.” Of course this means that not only our pelicans, but other waterbirds, crabs, crocodiles and a myriad other creatures that make up the biodiversity of mangroves are at risk.

I like Brown Pelicans the best when they are just “chilling.” They might be on a fishing boat, or on land, or simply resting on the water, their head tucked in. It’s pelican meditation time. And a good place to find them is mornings at Port Royal, when they are begging scraps from the fishers…

We want fish! A Brown Pelican at Port Royal, begging. (My photo)