“Just Thought I’d Ski In”

When the white pelicans were in recently they spent most of their time floating around the marsh pond scooping up fish. But occasionally one would decide he needed to immediately fly over to a different section. That action would peak the interest of another pelican who would assume this new spot must be where all the good fish are, and he needed to be there also.

That’s what happened here when the second pelican made a big show of water skiing over to join his friend. The new arrival failed to impress the friend however who just kept right on fishing. Realizing that was the best move anyway, the skier never missed a beat as he combined skiing with diving and immediately joined his buddy in some serious fishing.

26 thoughts on ““Just Thought I’d Ski In””

grasberry on March 25, 2014 at 4:34 pm said:

Great photos, Phil! Have they stayed at the park all winter?

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on March 25, 2014 at 5:33 pm said:
  
  Thanks Gareth! No they were hit and miss for a while but they never stayed consistently all through the winter.
  
  Reply ↓
The Dancing Rider on March 25, 2014 at 4:37 pm said:

Water-skier extraordinaire, that is for sure! 🙂 Love how they fish! Especially enjoyed the left most pelican, and the sequence of his fishing head dive!

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on March 25, 2014 at 5:34 pm said:
  
  I really like how they ski in for a landing. So different from the brown pelicans that hit the water like they were tossed out of a moving vehicle.
  
  Reply ↓
  - The Dancing Rider on March 25, 2014 at 5:36 pm said:
    
    Lol. 🙂
    
    Reply ↓
    - Phil Lanoue on March 25, 2014 at 5:49 pm said:
      
      It’s true too 😮
      
      Reply ↓
Patrizia M. on March 25, 2014 at 5:25 pm said:

Fantastica serie di scatti, le ultime sono divertenti, atterra in modo strano il pellicano ahahah
Ciaoo, Pat

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on March 25, 2014 at 5:35 pm said:
  
  Sono grandi uccelli divertenti! 🙂
  
  Reply ↓
Linda V. on March 25, 2014 at 5:30 pm said:

I love when they do that, it looks like they are water skying, they are so great, and so are your photos, I love pelicans, and miss them, where i am I’m lucky if i see a squirrel, (way up near the adirondacks) and still have over a foot of snow here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on March 26, 2014 at 1:11 pm said:
  
  These big guys are expert water skiers! Plus they can be show offs as well.
  We are currently experiencing a brief cold snap here but no snow. Cold in late march confuses the alligators though which is never a good thing.
  
  Reply ↓
  - Linda V. on March 26, 2014 at 1:26 pm said:
    
    Your in South Carolina right? Am thinking of making the big move either to North Carolina or S. Carolina or even back to Florida, cant do another winter here, ever since i moved here in December all I’ve seen is snow, snow and more snow, it even snowed today@@@@@and, will not take pictures of anymore snow scenes, I’m tired of it, and guess I learned my lesson about missing snow, but up in the adirondacks, I would imagine and hope the summer and spring which may happen in June..lol…would be beautiful, as well as the fall with the colors, after that, Im gone…no more snow for me…..atleast not like this, I showed a friend a pic of this place and he thought i lived in Greenland or the Artic Circle…seriously, and he was from Jersey!!!!
    
    Reply ↓
    - Phil Lanoue on March 26, 2014 at 1:39 pm said:
      
      Yeah we are just south of Myrtle Beach SC.
      I used to live in Jersey but just couldn’t take the winters anymore. (Plus all the other horrible things about NJ) 🙂
      This has been a brutal winter especially for you folks, but even here it won’t totally let go. We are supposed to go down to freezing tonight. Of course it will be sunny and in the 70s for the weekend.
      
      Reply ↓
dinajohnston on March 25, 2014 at 8:45 pm said:

Nice landing shots! Ours have all left now. I’m assuming they are heading your way.

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on March 26, 2014 at 1:13 pm said:
  
  Thanks! Glad you liked the landing.
  This has been a funny year for the WPs around here. There were some here when they would not be expected, and not here when you would expect. So I’m not sure where the heck they are heading off to now.
  
  Reply ↓
Otto von Münchow on March 25, 2014 at 9:29 pm said:

What a cool series of photographs. You really captured the pelican water skiing up to his mate. And the finale is just awesome, brought out the smile in me.

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on March 26, 2014 at 1:14 pm said:
  
  Hey thanks very much Otto, great to hear you enjoyed the water skiing pelican and they gave you a smile!
  
  Reply ↓
Lyle Krahn on March 26, 2014 at 1:14 am said:

What a perfect landing and you caught it all. I’m looking forward to seeing these guys again.

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on March 26, 2014 at 1:17 pm said:
  
  This one had perfect form and I suspect that if I screwed up the shots he would have been disappointed. Don’t want to waste the best performance if it’s not going to be properly captured.
  It’s been a funny year for the WPs around here and they are one bird I’m having trouble trying to predict arrivals and departures.
  Mark your calendar though for spoonbill arrival which I predict for last week of June/First week of July.
  
  Reply ↓
janmasyn on March 26, 2014 at 3:52 am said:

Great shots and a cool landing.

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on March 26, 2014 at 1:17 pm said:
  
  Thanks Jan, and I liked that landing too, he went right to work.
  
  Reply ↓
foxleylady on March 26, 2014 at 6:21 am said:

That looked like a real emergency stop!

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on March 26, 2014 at 1:18 pm said:
  
  He really mashed down on the breaks didn’t he?! Maybe he saw something good in there and wanted to go right for it without wasting any time.
  
  Reply ↓
Amy on March 26, 2014 at 1:46 pm said:

What a show off 😀 Love this series. Awesome captures, Phil!!

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on March 26, 2014 at 4:04 pm said:
  
  Thanks a million Amy, so glad you liked the water skiing pelican!
  
  Reply ↓
Gunta on March 27, 2014 at 12:59 am said:

Perfect!

Reply ↓
- Phil Lanoue on March 28, 2014 at 4:59 pm said:
  
  Thanks for checking these out and glad you enjoyed them!
  
  Reply ↓