Photo: Emily Richardson

PLUNGE-DIVING
The Brown Pelican is the only species of Pelican that uses a method of fishing called "plunge-diving." They fly over the ocean at heights of 60 to 70 feet and use their extremely sharp eyesight to spot schools of fish or individual fish swimming in the water. Once their target is set, they dive steeply into the water and scoop up their prey with their pouch.

They may enter the water fully submerged or partly depending on the height of the dive and what they are catching. The Brown Pelican has air sacs beneath its skin to cushion the impact of the dive and to help it reach the surface of the water.

The pelican’s pouch acts like a net and can hold up to 3 gallons of water and three times as more than its stomach. Once they have scooped up their prey the pelican holds the fish in their pouch until all of the water has drained away. As they wait for the water to drain and devour their tasty snack, hungry sea gulls will hover above the pelicans or even sit on their bills, ready to steal a wayward fish.

Once the water has drained away the pelican will swallow the fish and carry them in its esophagus. Along with being a great fishing tool, the pelican’s pouch also acts as a cooling unit in hot weather and as a feeding station for young pelicans.

WEATHERING THE STORM
What exactly do pelicans do during a hurricane? According to experts at the Pelican Harbor Seabird Station they are great at preparing for a storm. As it approaches the pelicans will sit on the ground and they point their chest to the wind and put their head on their back. Then they will cover their eyes with their wings and ride it out like the rest of us. There have even been some sightings of pelicans flying around in a category one hurricane.

Resources for this article have been provided by Wikipedia, the Pelican Harbro Seabird Station and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.