Hi all - The following is good information on White Pelicans from Jeff Matteo, Bemidjii. He bands the Pelicans and has worked with them for over 5 years. He had these very informative comments regarding mine and Craig's recent posts on possible young pelicans at Tiger Lake in Carver County. Kathryn Young Mpls
>> Hi Kathryn, >> >> Thanks for your response. Based on Craig's description, I'd >> guess he is right >> and those were all adult pelicans. Young of the year do not get >> black feathers >> on their heads. One year old pelicans do not return north to >> breeding areas >> their first summer, and instead stay on traditional wintering >> areas. Two year >> old pelicans do return north, but do not breed and just roam in >> groups away from >> breeding colonies. White pelicans are thought to breed at three >> years of age, >> but a number of us working with pelicans don't think that's >> always the case. >> During the courting and early breeding season, adult pelicans >> have white plumes >> on top of their heads, but that begins to molt after eggs are >> layed and by the >> time they are feeding young most have black feathers on the top >> and back of >> their heads (some quite extensive). They also grow a "knob" on >> their bill in >> the spring, that also drops off when they have young. However, >> even nonbreeding >> two year old birds grow the knob and develop the white plumes >> that are lost >> during the summer, so it's pretty hard to tell a breeding from a >> nonbreeding >> bird. I don't know if the one year old birds that stay south get >> those >> characteristics their first year. Young of the year can have a >> somewhat yellow >> bill, but it generally is much duller and drab than the yellow of >> an adult. >> >> Anyway, no, I don't live near the Twin Cities, I live up in >> Bemidji. But I work >> with pelicans breeding in Minnesota from the Iowa border to the >> Canadian border. >> >> Thanks again for the information! >> >> -Jeff >> >> >>> Hi Jeff - I was with Craig Mandel (an excellent and well known >>> birder >>> here in MN) he took some pictures and here are his conclusions of >>> what we saw. >>> Jeff do you live around the Twin Cities? kathryn young >>> >>> >>> Just getting a chance to post the birds that Kathryn and I >>> observed on >>> Monday, in SW Minnesota. >>> 7:00 am - 3:00 pm >>> >>> Carver County >>> American White Pelican - Tiger Lake >>> There was a large congregation of American White Pelicans on Tiger >>> Lake on >>> Monday. Including many full white adult and molting adult American >>> White >>> Pelicans. There were also several birds that I thought may have >>> been >>> immature birds. I took some nice pictures of those birds and >>> came to >>> the >>> conclusion that they were pictures of adult American White Pelicans. >>> The >>> key field mark I used for what I believe to be the correct id was >>> there bill >>> color, which was Yellow. What led me to think these birds were >>> probably >>> immature birds was the amount of Black on there heads and back. I >>> did not >>> recall seeing adults with completely Black heads and thick black >>> neck >>> lines. >>> I did get a chance to check my pictures this afternoon and a >>> number of >>> different reference books. None of them show an adult American >>> White >>> Pelican with the amount of black these birds had, they all show the >>> immature >>> with a Gray bill. The Yellow bills seem to be consistent with adult >>> birds. >>> I am also familiar with the small number of locations in >>> Minnesota that >>> American White Pelicans nest and had hoped to add another. But >>> no such >>> luck. >>> >>> On Jul 15, 2008, at 9:00 PM, Jeff DiMatteo wrote: >>> >>> >>>> Kathryn, >>>> >>>> Your listserv posting was forwarded to me. I've been banding >>>> pelicans for a number of years in five other Minnesota colonies. >>>> To the best of my knowledge, there is no recent history of pelicans >>>> nesting on Tiger Lake in Carver County, but prior to European >>>> settlement, anything could have been possible. I do, however, have >>>> a vague memory that there may have been an unsuccessful nesting >>>> attempt elsewhere in Carver County around 20 years ago. It is >>>> quite common for pelicans to attempt to establish new colonies in a >>>> variety of locations, and even though they may successfully raise >>>> young some years, most of those attempts eventually fail. For >>>> example, around 20 pairs raised a dozen young on Artichoke Lake in >>>> Big Stone County two years ago, but those birds never returned. >>>> The source of these birds may be other successful Upper Midwest >>>> pelican colonies that add new breeders to the population every >>>> year, or some may be displaced birds from the Chase Lake, North >>>> Dakota colony that has been experiencing serious problems the past >>>> several years. >>>> >>>> The main reason I'm writing is to ask if you could provide any >>>> information on approximately how many birds (pairs) you saw nesting >>>> at Tiger Lake? Thanks in advance. >>>> >>>> -Jeff DiMatteo >>>> >>>> >>>>> Craig Mandel and I were birding the County's of Carver, McLeod, >>>>> Nicollet and Sibley today, came upon White Pelicans and their >>>>> young at Tiger Lake in Carver Cty on Hwy 212 NW of Norwood Young >>>>> America. Does anyone know if the White Pelican has been known to >>>>> breed and raise their young on this lake in MN? Thanks---- >>>>> Kathryn Young >>>>> >>>>
