PHOTO OP-ED: Pelicans sojourn in Port waters

White pelicans have graced Port Washington waters and skies for weeks in an extended visit on their way to nesting grounds on Green Bay. Unlike their brown cousins in southern waters, white pelicans do not make spectacular dives from the air to catch fish, but from the surface of the water scoop them up with their capacious, long-reaching bills. The bump on the bill of the pelican flying past the Port harbor entrance marker is a horn that appears on males and females during mating season and disappears later in summer. Until recently, white pelicans, some of the largest birds in North America, were rarely seen along the Ozaukee County coastline, and the roosts on Green Bay had only about 250 pairs in 2005. Today their Green Bay population is estimated at more than 3,000 pairs, a result of habitat restoration on the Cat Islands largely funded by Wisconsin Sea Grant. The abundance of alewives this spring makes Port waters good habitat for a stopover.

Photos
by
Sam
Arendt