Coming in for a landing

It’s no secret that I love pelicans. I love watching them soar low over the waves, where they are truly in their element. I love watching them plunge from the air into the water and then bob right back to the surface, because unlike their cormorant relatives, pelicans can’t fly underwater. And I love watching them plunk around on land, where they are dumpy and awkward but still somehow elegant.

The other day I ventured out between storms to photograph birds. As per usual I ended up down at Natural Bridges, where pelicans were hanging out on the last remaining rock arch. They were well within the reach of my long lens, so I took a lot of photos.

The best photos I got were of a subadult pelican coming in for a landing.

Final approach:

Landing gear down!

Decreasing air speed:

Losing altitude:

Almost there!

And. . . touchdown!

A job well done!

The youngster managed a safe landing without knocking one of its compadres into the water. That isn’t always the case–those wings can do a lot of damage. But the three adult birds on the left hardly seemed to notice, which means the youngster has learned how to stick the landing without disturbing everyone else in the vicinity. I’m sure that’s a lot easier said than done!