Richard Moore Outdoor Report: Marvelous White Pelicans

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Soaring gracefully aloft in swirling kettles of hundreds with their majestic wings spread wide, the vanguard of white pelicans is arriving in deep South Texas. 

The Rio Grande Valley is a prime destination for avian winter visitors, and flocks of American white pelicans annually assume residence on coastal wetlands and local resacas. 

They breed in large colonies as far north as central Canada. In the fall, the majority migrate to coastal regions of California and along the Gulf of Mexico, with some traveling as far as Guatemala. 

There is a unique breeding colony in Texas in the upper Laguna Madre, and not only is it the only breeding colony in the state, but also the only group of American white pelicans that breeds in a marine environment. 

Whether these initial groups arriving in the Valley are from upper Laguna Madre or distant North Country is unknown, but the good news is that you don’t have to venture far out into wildands to see these beautiful birds as they frequent local resacas throughout winter months. 

With a potential life span of two decades or more, many of these feathered winter Texans have no doubt migrated to these familiar waters many times before. 

In recent years, several pelicans with silver bands indicating they came from Chase National Wildlife Refuge in North Dakota have been documented on Brownsville resacas. 

Often congregating in small groups, they cooperate with one another to corral prey, and each bird can easily consume more than four pounds of fish per day. 

What a pleasure to watch these magnificent birds performing their wonderfully choreographed aquatic ballets throughout our Valley waterways. 

At days end, languidly grooming and paddling shallows in a favorite secluded roost, this flock of several hundred white pelicans leaves the water strewn with feathers conjuring images of a South Texas snowfall.