Ask around “when was the last time you saw a pelican at Clark Lake?”  Most will answer “never.”  That changed recently when Mike McKay and others at the lake spotted this visitor at the east end of the lake.

Chris Kudner took the photo. 

Pelicans have not always been welcomed.  According to Wikipedia, pelicans “have been persecuted by humans for their perceived competition for fish, despite the fact that their diet overlaps little with fish caught by people. Starting in the 1880s, American white pelicans were clubbed and shot, their eggs and young were deliberately destroyed, and their feeding and nesting sites were degraded by water management schemes and wetland drainage.”  No word about its fishing experience at Clark Lake.

This specimen appears to be an American White Pelican.  Click here to read about it.

Share