American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) Strikes a Pose

[waterwatcher123]

5. The St. Louis River is a Great Lakes Area of Concern (so, it is nice to see the return of white pelicans).

It was interesting to see how many people ventured out to see the white pelicans (cars everywhere with cameras and people of all ages). This area in the St. Louis River estuary is one of the key walleye and Lake Sturgeon spawning areas on Lake Superior. So, there were lots of white pelicans with fish sticking out of both sides of their mouths.

Those brown pelicans are amazing to watch too. They were all over place at Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge when we visited in April. People were fishing as well. So, my guess is there were lots of fish nearshore where those brown pelicans were diving. It is quite a testament to the resiliency of nature to see brown pelicans doing so well.