Yesterday morning, it was sunny and cold at the Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area on the Missouri River floodplain; the temperature was 25 degrees F. Though one does not generally associate pelicans with such conditions, a flock of twenty American white pelicans huddled on a mudflat.
Then, about 10:30 AM, a series of large flocks began to arrive from the south, totaling 1500 individuals or more. Unlike the noisy flocks of Canada, snow and white-fronted geese, the stately pelicans drifted by in silence, flapping and gliding above the primary channel of the refuge. About 200 of the migrants dropped to join the resting flock but most continued up the Missouri River Valley, headed toward breeding grounds across the Northern Plains of the U.S. and Canada; they will surely stop to rest and feed at other refuges along the way.
When we first moved to Missouri, 15 years ago, I would encounter occasional small flocks of American white pelicans in late March or April and again in late summer as they migrated between their breeding grounds and wintering areas along the Gulf Coast. In recent years, however, they have begun arriving earlier in the "spring" and huge flocks have been stopping at Eagle Bluffs. Yesterday's spectacular pelican parade appears to be the new norm.
