Pelicans, Blues, and Neo-Classical Revival
Day Trippin’ on the Mississippi Gulf Coast
We’ve been in Gulfport, MS this week to meet our newest grand (#10), a boy who, I am proud to say, is contributing greatly to the the next generation of handsome Hutson men.
One of the pursuits that my wife and I have taken up in retirement (although she started the endeavor a few years before) is Birding.
So, on a fine January day (cold, but sunny) we set out for the Escatawpa River Marsh Coastal Preserve near Moss Point and Pascagoula.
We have been to the Gulf Coast several times during the Summer months, but since this area is only a Winter habitat for the American White Pelican, we had not seen these magnificent birds yet.
Most of our birding has been along the coastal areas of South Carolina which is home year-round to the Brown Pelican. For reasons only known to the Creator, the White Pelican does not inhabit the East Coast, so this was a new bird for us to add to our collection of sightings and report to Cornell Lab.
Crossing the Pascagoula River bridge, we came to an expansive marsh and tidal area. I am happy to report that White Pelicans were in abundance.
Cameras clicked. Birders happy!
The White Pelican is one of the largest North American birds and is very majestic when flying.
Here are a few interesting facts about the White Pelican from All About Birds.
American White Pelicans cooperate when feeding. Sometimes, large groups gather in wetlands. They coordinate their swimming to drive schooling fish toward the shallows. The pelicans can then easily scoop up these corralled fish from the water.
American White Pelicans must provide roughly 150 pounds of food to nourish a chick from its birth to the time it's ready to forage on its own.
Pelicans are skillful food thieves. They steal from other pelicans trying to swallow large fish and are successful about one-third of the time. They also try to steal prey from Double-crested Cormorants that are bringing fish to the surface. In their dense nesting colonies, some birds even steal the food that a parent on an adjacent nest has disgorged for its young.
Pelican chicks can crawl by 1 to 2 weeks of age. By 3 weeks they can walk with their body off the ground and can swim as soon as they can get to water. Older chicks move up to running, then running with flapping their wings, and by the age of 9 to 10 weeks, they can fly.
They forage almost exclusively by day on their wintering grounds, but during breeding season, they commonly forage at night. Even though it’s hard to see, nighttime foraging tends to result in larger fish being caught than during the daytime.
American White Pelicans and Double-crested Cormorants are often found together. They sometimes forage together (though they mainly hunt different fish and at different depths). Cormorants even nest individually or in groups within pelican colonies.
Pelicans are big birds that can overheat when they’re out in the hot sun. They shed heat by facing away from the sun and fluttering their bill pouches—which contain many blood vessels to let body heat escape. Incubating parents may also stretch their wings wide to aid cooling.
American White Pelican embryos squawk before hatching to express discomfort if conditions get too hot or cold.
The oldest known American White Pelican was at least 23 years, 6 months old and was banded in North Dakota in 1983.
A side-perk of roaming the countryside hunting for unique birds is running across other interesting things along the way.
As we were out and about around Moss Point, we encountered this plaque commemorating the prominence of the Blues as a music genre that originated all along this part of Mississippi:
And, wherever you travel in the South, you come across interesting historical architecture -
Originally built in 1875 in the Italianate style, the Cudabac-Gantt House was renovated and converted to a Neo-Classical Revival style in 1907. It has been sold and updated several times since. Today, it is the home of the Jackson County Small Business Incubator.
Sure hope the freezing temps abate before we head back home.
As always, I want to thank you for your support. Until next time, friends …
I'm so happy to read this post. I spent 16 years in Pascagoula, Mississippi and love so many people there. Thank you for sharing this journey with me. I will send it to some coastal friends down there. Beautiful pics and I learned about the pelicans too! Thank you!!!
Hey. We have these pelicans on the front range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains too.