Nature: Pelicans a welcome sight now in Ohio

With queer antediluvian grunts they (white pelicans) set wing, descending in majestic spirals to the welcoming wastes of a bygone age.

— Aldo Leopold, Sand County Almanac (1949)

Leopold’s ornate prose might have to be modified, because pelicans increasingly are spiraling into the welcoming wastes of a new world.

These massive birds are being reported with increasingly frequency in Ohio and elsewhere in the East. Their principal range is west of the Mississippi River, and many winter in the Gulf States. I routinely receive reports from people who were shocked to see one — or more — of the enormous birds. Observers blink and rub their eyes — a pelican! No way! We’re not in Florida! 

An American white pelican is tough to miss. Snow-white with black primary and secondary wing feathers and a massive yellow bill, they stand out from afar. One of the largest North American birds, a healthy specimen is about 5 feet in length, its wings span 9 feet, and it will weigh 17 pounds or more.

The only real source of confusion would be the brown pelican, a coastal species that is much darker. And far rarer in Ohio, with only a handful on record.

A pelican bill is an amazing appendage, and highly effective in its primary purpose of catching fish. Loose skin on the bill’s underside forms an expansive pouch when the bird is fishing. More than three gallons of water can be held, along with fishy prey.

Fishing pelicans swim through the shallows, seining their bills through the water and scooping up fish. In areas where concentrations of these birds are high, big groups will form feeding lines and herd fish, snapping them up along the way.

I once saw more than a hundred white pelicans fishing in such a manner at Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area in southwest Indiana. The watery conga line forced fish toward the bank while the pelicans avidly snapped up their squirming meal. A pelican can eat 4 pounds of fish daily, and this group was probably taking hundreds of pounds of prey in short order.

Fishermen should not feel threatened. Pelicans’ main catch is “rough” fish such as minnows, shiners and young carp.

White pelicans were uncommon visitors to Ohio’s larger water bodies in the 1800s. By the early 20th century, the overall population was taking it on the chin, victims of wetland loss and rampant shooting for sport, and in the misguided belief that pelicans damaged fisheries. Various pesticides, including DDT, also took a toll.

Between 1920 and 1980, pelicans were accidental visitors to the Buckeye State, with most sightings along Lake Erie. The 1980s saw an uptick in reports, and ever-increasing numbers of white pelicans have been an annual occurrence since.

Pelicans might appear anywhere, at any season but winter (although a few hardy birds have attempted wintering here). Single birds are no longer the rule. Flocks of up to 60 have been seen, although groups of six or fewer is more typical.

Locally, birds have appeared at big lakes, in wetlands and along larger rivers. A celebrity pelican spent time last year along the Scioto River by the Grange Insurance Audubon Center, in sight of Columbus’ skyscrapers.

Purging of toxic pesticides from the environment, better protection of nesting colonies and wetland restoration have spiked North American white pelican populations. That’s why we are seeing more in Ohio, and it’s probably only a matter of time before they nest here. There have been breeding reports on Canadian islands in Lake Erie, just over the Ohio border.

Naturalist Jim McCormac writes a column for The Dispatch on the first, third and fifth Sundays of the month. He also writes about nature at www.jimmccormac.blogspot.com.