Another wonderful bird that we got to hang out with during our trip to Murrells Inlet was the Brown Pelican. These pleasantly peculiar birds (which I definitely don’t get to see in my own backyard!) are quite fun to watch.

In one section of Huntington Beach State Park, you can walk along the ocean’s edge for a little over a mile and come to a jetty where the Pelicans like to hang out.

These birds are quite social, so when you find one you usually find a small gathering.

Based on their size and their prehistoric appearance, you might think they would look awkward or clumsy in flight, but they are actually incredibly graceful gliders…

…with huge wingspans of about seven feet.

It was fascinating to watch them hunt for fish. They are known to do headfirst dives from high above the water (which we saw when we were on the beach near our Airbnb) but here, by the jetty, they were mostly hovering close to the surface and then dipping under.

They can hold about three gallons of water in their throat pouch – a fun fact that hubby was looking up while I was busy pressing the shutter button! So, when they go under, they scoop up the fish, then dip their head down and tighten their throat muscles to drain out the water, then tilt their head back and let gravity feed them whatever fish they caught.

During our time watching them, they were only getting mini morsels, like the Egret and Heron from my last post. You’ll have to click on the image below (taken of one in the marsh area) and then still strain your eyes to see his catch!

I zoomed in and did some cropping on the next photo, just to have a nice, open-billed shot. Isn’t that cool? That hook on the end of his bill helps him snare his prey more easily.

I took about a zillion shots of these beauties, but I’ll just share one more that’s a bit of a glamor shot, showing off his bright eye and fun head feathers.

They definitely seem more suited to the dinosaur days, but I think that’s part of what makes them so delightful!