Monday, June 21, 2010

Are you going to eat all of that?

Birding Longboat Key, FloridaThis young American Brown Pelican had to fight for every fish he caught, but he was strong willed and did not lose one fish to the pesky gull trying to steal them away! The gull would sit on top of the pelican's head and wait for the water to drain out of the pelican's gular pouch hoping to nab a fish as the pelican opened his bill to swallow his catch down, but this pelican was very patient, and he would sit in the water with his bill closed until the gull was far enough away, then he would tip his head up and swallow the fish down!





...such a patient little pelican...and the thieving gull was patient too, never losing hope of stealing a fish out of the pelican's gular pouch!

You could see the fish moving around in the pelican's gular pouch, but he refused to swallow them until the gull was out of stealing range!

30 comments:

Chris said...

Looks like this guy was hungry and he got some company ;-) Beautiful sequence of a nice nature moment! Well done Kelly.

Dina said...

These are so cute. You really caught the pelican's personality.

Roy said...

Boy, that's one pesky gull, sitting on the poor Pelican's head waiting to steal the fish. I'd have swatted the pest with that decidedly heavy bill!

Unknown said...

Outstanding! Great captures!
The gull certainly was a cheeky one. I wonder where it learned that behaviour!

Kay Baughman said...

Great photos!! I've been watching the same thing (Laughing Gulls following and stealing fish from Brown Pelicans) from my windows but have not been able to get photos. It reminds me of the pelican in Nemo and the gulls that yell "mine! mine!" whenever there's food.

Kathy A. Johnson said...

Great photos--what fun to see the nature of these birds in action!

Montanagirl said...

Kelly! What an amazing series (AGAIN!!). These were just wonderful shots. The Pelican had that Gull's number, didn't he?

BirdingMaine said...

WOW, beautiful series Kelly! That's one brave Gull!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Cute post, Kelly... Sounds like the pelican ended up being the smarter one!!!! But the gull was cute to sit on the pelican while patiently waiting!

Love your pictures.
Hugs,
Betsy

Anonymous said...

HA! I've see gulls do this to whales too.

Adrienne Zwart said...

Oh my goodness, that would be SO annoying! But that's putting my human feelings into the situation, I suppose. Clearly, I can learn a lesson in patience here. :)
Great series, Kelly!

Jeni said...

Great pictures Kelly! Good to know Gulls annoy other creatures too!

hahahah - the word verification is "pesti" Perfect for this post!

Deb said...

At first I was afraid that the gull was going to down the pelican! I'm glad that the pelican thwarted his thieving ways. :)

grammie g said...

That is the funniest thing, they look like real buds if you didn't know the difference!!! Great caught on that one!!

Barbara said...

Amazing photography!

Wanda..... said...

That persistant little gull left ruffled feathers on the pelican's head.

Enjoyed the photos of their togetherness, Kelly!
♥...Wanda

Janice K said...

What a pair! Neat capture!

Jayne said...

How funny! I never knew they did this! That was one smart Pelican. Great shots Kelly!

Out on the prairie said...

Gulls can be pushy. I always like to toss them some bread or have them snatch it from my fingers.

Phil and Mandy said...

lovely photos

Elva Paulson said...

What a terrific observation ... and photos to go with it!

Felicia said...

That's one shameless young gull! I can't help thinking that pelican looks quite pleased with him/herself in the last shot!

holdingmoments said...

Amazing sequence Kelly.
What a cheeky gull! lol

Andrew said...

Wonderful photos!

Kelly said...

...thanks, everyone. It definitely was a funny sight! Every time the pelican would dive and come up with another fish, the gull would sit on his head, trying to steal the fish. Eventually the gull moved on--after 4 unsuccessful attempts!

AFTERMATH said...

Looks like some gruesome series from a Chevy Chase summer camp movie! Great captures.

SKIZO said...

In your honour and in the honour of wall the Photographers, I published an ilustration.

Elaine said...

Cute post. Kinda reminds me of my boys when they were kids, always needing more to eat as they went through one growth spurt after another, and watching to see if you were eating what was on your plate. "Can I have that? Are you going to eat that?" Ah, the simple joy of being able to eat all the food on your plate....

Mary said...

How funny! Poor pelican just trying to have a nice quiet lunch, and being harrassed by a gull :-) Sort of like when we eat outside and House Sparrows hang around waiting for handouts.

Mary Sheehan Winn said...

This is so cool. I love your photos of birds. Your closeup lens is fabulous. Unless, of course, you were that close....