I absolutely ADORE pelicans - my most favourite bird! I don't know why, except they are so big and chunky, and full of character. I would love to see them really close up.
We have a large number of pelicans on the West Coast, and whenever we are out, I look out for them. They have 3 favourite spots, as far as I can tell,
but a lot depends on what the weather is doing. When the south-easter is blowing they seem to congregate at Rietvlei, on the side of Table View, & we
see them when we go through to Cape Town or to the library in Milnerton.
Then, they have a favourite spot on the way to Durbanville near the quarry area (for those who know this part of the world). After all the heavy rain we've had, the whole area was flooded, much to the delight of the pellies. Yesterday as we turned off the N7 to take the Conterman's Kloof road to Durbanville, we found a gazillion pellies! It was awesome to see! So THAT'S where they got to!
Their third favourite spot is way out past Malmesbury where there is another vlei - they are of course waterbirds, so they migrate from vlei to vlei.
The pelican is the subject of a popular limerick, originally composed by a guy called Dixon Lanier Merritt in 1910.....several others have come up with variations since then, but this is the original - for your entertainment!
A wonderful bird is the pelican
His bill will hold more than his bellican
He can take in his beak
food enough for a week
but I'm darned if I see how the hellican!
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