A Good Year For White Pelicans

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When I moved here to the Great Plains almost 7 years ago I was sad because I am now about as far away from a beach and an ocean as I could be. I love the ocean and the beach and the birds that frequent coastal areas. There are three large connected ponds south of the town in which I live. I go there often to get my requisite doses of nature. Well, that first summer I was here I was shocked to see a white pelican swimming in one of those ponds. I always thought pelicans were coastal birds. But after doing some research I found that while brown pelicans are coastal birds, white pelicans are actually more inland birds. I'm not an ornithologist nor a birdwatcher. I'm just a bird freak. I love birds. So you can imagine how excited I was to see a white pelican. In subsequent years I have continued going to the ponds and every year I see that same white pelican. (I'm assuming it is the same one.) But last year in all my many visits to the ponds I never saw a single white pelican. I was sad. On a nature walk around the ponds earlier this summer, though, I saw a white pelican! I was so happy! Was it the same one? Did it come back? Or was it a new one? I didn't care. I was just so happy to see one. Then in early August, on a walkabout around the ponds I spotted TWO white pelicans! I was thrilled. They were swimming very close to each other. Were they mates? Would there be the pitter-patter of tiny white pelican webbed feet? Like I said, I'm not an ornithologist so I had no idea. In the following weeks I saw no baby pelicans but those two white pelicans were still there and that made me so happy. I had never seen more than one. And then last week I went to the ponds for my much-needed dose of nature and, lo and behold, there were THREE white pelicans. THREE! I didn't see any white pelican babies but still there were THREE white pelicans! If you follow the news every day this year has seemed like a horrible year full of bad news. It can be depressing. That is one reason I try to get out in nature as often as possible. Well, while it seems like it has been a horrible year from watching the news, the news from the ponds has been very uplifting! There may not be any babies but the white pelican population has tripled! I am one happy bird freak. It has been a very good year for white pelicans! You may have to turn off the computer and the TV to find it, but I hope everyone can find some good news in their life. I have. Go out into nature. You may find something to put a smile on your face.