Photo by Bill Steinkamp
In last week’s clue for our current Blue-Banded Pelican Sighting Contest, we talked about pelicans commonly found on sandbars in bays or at the mouths of rivers. (What’s this contest all about? Click on the link above to find out.)
So here’s clue #4, and it’s an easier place to spot them: Go to any of the harbors where there are fishing boats, piers or anything to do with fish. Some of the best places to see pelicans (and possibly encounter Blue-Banded Pelicans) are Fisherman’s Wharf Monterey, Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, and all the wharfs and piers in Bodega Bay and elsewhere in Northern California. (Blue-Banded Pelican K15 is called the “Mascot of the Pacifica Pier” by some people because he hangs out there.)
In the L.A. area, the Redondo Pier and many others along the Southern California coast are also good bets.
In Washington, some of our banded pelicans have been seen in Westport at the boat docks. If you’re in Oregon, they’ve been spotted in places like Brookings at fish-cleaning stations on many docks.
Many of the Blue-Banded Pelicans that have been reported this year to us have been seen in these areas. Check them out!
Below, you’ll find all three previous clues for this contest, which ends in early January. Thanks to Eagle Optics for providing the grand-prize binoculars!
Clue #1
Clue #2
Clue #3
Photo by Julie Matsuura