Beth, the Pelican Whisperer

CYI...(Can you imagine) being surrounded on all sides by a showcase of shorebirds...a bevy of big birds...or a passel of pelicans?

I blew this picture up on my computer, and started counting the waiting birds...the waiting bills. I probably missed a few, but I counted 110 birds, with 35 of that 110 having the select seats on the dock with Beth.

She tries to isolate the birds with the problems (mostly fish hooks stuck in their pouches) by tossing fish away from them, and then tries to capture it with her net. Today, I did see her net one. She grabbed it right by the bill, straddled the wings to keep it from thrashing about, and pulled out a hook.

In my mind...there are volunteers, and there are VOLUNTEERS. I just think she is special.

A couple other shots of Beth and a few shots of birds in the rain are on my Flickr page. I only got 20-25 minutes before the skies opened up...forcing me to return home to watch golf on TV.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/76781400@N06/albums/72157691096635341