A flotilla of pelicans on another chilly Winter day

 

Yesterday my walk had the same degree of chilliness as Monday. I spotted at least thirteen pelicans but it's possible that I missed one. The pelicans were very mobile and at one point a flotilla of at least twelve passed me in a kind of parade formation. Unfortunately the prevalent bulrushes and their proximity prevented me from getting a good photo. I also didn't have time to properly count them since they were swimming in the opposite direction that I was walking. My lunch break affords me the opportunity to take a few photos, usually on the run, but there's not enough time for backtracking or lengthy watching.

I spotted what I initially took to be six turkey vultures high in a tree. I was looking forward to a closer look when I rounded the bend but they were gone by that time. When I looked closer at the photos they looked more like seven cormorants.

The turtle log was occupied as usual on a sunny day at this time of year. Three were close together and one was all by itself.

While I was walking toward the Pavilion I saw another example of the bullying behavior of the pelicans towards the cormorants. A cormorant dove beneath the water, presumably searching for fish. A pelican flew up, landed within the cormorant's ripple ring, scooped up and swallowed a fish. That's the first time I've seen that at the lake. I may have to go and watch for an extended period after work or on the weekend to see if I can get an example on video. I haven't caught any pelicans diving underwater themselves. Either they're too lazy or unable to dive because of how shallow the lake is (or possibly another reason).