9 pelicans and a juvenile black-crowned night heron with a fish

 

Yesterday on my lunch break I walked the lake with my mom who's visiting. It rained overnight and overflow was draining into the lake in the usual places on both the West and East sides.

The number of pelicans increased from four to nine and they were busy. At the beginning of the walk there was one pelican swimming North of the pier where there were the usual two white ducks, mallards, and American coots. The other eight pelicans were at the midpoint of the West side of the lake and they gradually swam Southeast and met us at the spur Northeast of the island. A few of the pelicans flew part of the way as well as many cormorants.

Both cormorants and all nine pelicans crowded the spur and then swam or flew West across the area North of the island.

We spotted some mallard couples. There were also a large number of turtles scattered around on logs. We spotted Phyllis North of the island but she and her crew made a hasty exit when the pelicans appeared. As we came around the South end of the lake we saw Phyllis and her crew on the bank we often see them at.

We didn't see any great blue herons or great egrets. I spotted a pie-billed grebe on the West side of the lake. The biggest surprise of the walk, besides the increase in pelicans, was seeing a juvenile black-crowned night heron with a big fish in its mouth.