While looking for American Golden Plover and other shorebirds at Jackson Lake earlier this week I was quite amazed at the foraging behaviour of the thousands of American White Pelicans now present at the reservoir. About 5:30 PM Monday, Oct 8, I watched the Pelicans form a line parallel to the north shore that was at least a quarter mile wide and 2 to 4 birds in depth as they moved in unison toward that shore. They were lowering their bills and beating their wings as they went most likely to alarm and direct the fish toward shore. The sound of all those birds flapping in the water was similar to an ocean surf. Almost surreal.
Fishing must be good for pelicans at Jackson. The reservoir is drying up and the surviving fish are quite concentrated and there are numerous dead carp on the dry sandy exposed bottom. Not having seen this large of a "fish drive" before, I was wondering if one this size is unusual or if this is common on our inland lakes and reservoirs. Gary Koehn Colorado Springs -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
