Use caution when IDing Pelicans at Utah Lake

["Eric Huish" <poorwill_ at hotmail dot com>]

I went birding out behind the Steel Plant this morning looking for the Brown 
Pelican but all I saw was dirty White Pelicans.  I went back out again after 
Leila reported her sighting and again just dirty white pelicans.

Some of the Pelicans in the area must be getting into some oil. There are 
many brownish American White Pelicans out there. One particular Pelican that 
flew in was very dark (almost black) on it?s bill, head, neck, belly and 
tail.  The only kind of white spot left was the top of the wings and the 
back.  As it stretched out its neck to land a thought I was watching a Wood 
Stork (my heart stopped for a second).  When it faced my way all I could see 
was brown.  Until it opened its wings and showed white underwings with black 
secondaries and primaries.  I could also see that the breast feathers were 
soaked bad in something because they were all matted together and formed 
streaks down the birds chest.  The feathers were so matted the dirty bird 
even looked smaller that the clean ones.

There could defiantly be a Brown Pelican out there.  The birds move around a 
lot and it is a very big lake. Just be aware that there are some ?brown? 
White Pelicans.


Eric Huish
Pleasant Grove UT
poorwill_@hotmail.com
801-360-8777

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