I get a special thrill when I spot the white pelicans near North Shore Beach and Flora Wylie Park each year. I got my first glimpse of them while running on a Monday morning at the end of the year, when I also had to navigate soggy parkland and mud-covered sidewalks, washed over the seawall from that weekend’s no-name storm. Which made me wonder if the storm had blown in the birds this year? They spend their summers on lakes and estuaries up north, and winter on Florida’s Gulf Coast and South Florida.

The white pelicans differ from their more humble-colored brethren, the brown pelican, in more than just hue. For starters, they are two to three times larger, and have pinkish bills, rather than brown. They congregate close together, and pluck their food from near the surface of the water, rather than diving deeper for it. Oftentimes they work together, flapping their wings in a frenzy to drum up fish (which, if you haven’t ever seen it, is quite a noisy spectacle!)

The group along the waterfront park just north of North Shore Pool numbered at least 25 on the morning I saw them. They usually stick around for a while, so go see if you can catch a glimpse of them! 

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