Nature Smart Column with Stan Tekiela: American White Pelican

There are some birds that seem almost too improbable to be real. The American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) is one of them. With a wingspan stretching nearly nine feet, and a bill so absurdly oversized, this is a bird that is hard to misidentify for anything else. Yet, despite their enormous size, White Pelicans fly with astonishing grace. Flocks can often be seen circling overhead catching invisible columns of rising warm air, called thermals, wheeling higher without a single wingbeat. But it wasn’t always this way.

Not that long ago, spotting a white pelican was a genuine birding event. Birders posted the locations of pelicans that they spotted. Photographers packed their cameras. Birders drove miles just to catch a glimpse of these magnificent birds. Their numbers had dwindled so dramatically that many people assumed they were becoming another conservation tragedy. When I first started writing field guides for birds, forty years ago, these birds weren’t even found in most states.

Fortunately, the story of the American White Pelican has taken a much happier turn. Like so many wildlife success stories, the decline of the American White Pelican wasn’t caused by a single factor or event. Instead, it was the result of several human-caused pressures piling on at once.

The first challenge came from habitat loss. White Pelicans nest in large colonies on isolated islands in shallow lakes. These islands protect them from predators such as foxes, coyotes, raccoons, and even humans. As wetlands were drained for agriculture and development, many of these productive shallow lakes disappeared.

Human disturbance also played a significant role. Pelicans are highly sensitive during the nesting season. A single person wandering too close to a nesting colony can send hundreds of adults into the air. While the adults circle overhead, eggs and young chicks become vulnerable to overheating in the summer sun or opportunistic gulls eager for an easy meal. Sometimes repeated disturbances caused entire colonies to abandon their nests.

The wide use of chemicals such as DDT entered aquatic food chains and accumulated in fish, which pelicans consume almost exclusively. Although Bald Eagles and Peregrine Falcons became the symbols of DDT’s devastating effects, pelicans were also impacted. Contaminants reduced reproductive success in many waterbird populations, making recovery increasingly difficult.

Beginning in the 1970s, conservation efforts started. Wetlands received greater protection. Wildlife managers recognized the importance of safeguarding nesting colonies. Public environmental education encouraged people to give nesting birds plenty of space. Most importantly, DDT was banned in the United States, allowing aquatic ecosystems to begin a slow recovery.

Slowly, nesting colonies began producing more chicks. Existing colonies expanded while new colonies formed in suitable habitat. Today, breeding populations have grown throughout much of the northern Great Plains and central Canada. During migration, large flocks now stop at reservoirs, rivers, and natural lakes across the Midwest.

I’ve watched these giant birds skim just inches above the water before landing with barely a splash. Their comeback reminds me of something we often overlook. Wildlife populations rarely recover overnight. Conservation isn’t glamorous. It usually happens in one protected wetland, one restored island, one successful nesting season at a time. The results may take decades to become visible, but when they do, they are nothing short of extraordinary.

Of course, challenges remain. Changing climate with its associated, prolonged drought, increasing recreational pressure, and outbreaks of avian diseases continue to threaten pelican colonies.

Still, every time I see a flock of American White Pelicans soaring silently overhead, I can’t help but smile. They are living proof that when we identify problems and commit to solving them, nature often responds with remarkable resilience.

The next time you find yourself near a lake and notice a line of enormous white birds gliding low across the water, take a moment to appreciate what you’re seeing. They represent decades of protection, environmental education, scientific research, public awareness, and stewardship. In a world where good environmental news sometimes seems hard to find, the return of the American White Pelican is a welcome reminder that given a chance, nature has an incredible capacity to heal and to soar. Until next time…

Stan Tekiela is an author, naturalist, and photographer who travels extensively to study and capture images of wildlife. He can be followed on www.instagram.com and www.facebook.com. He can be contacted via his webpage at www.naturesmart.com.