Unexpected

Weather forecast was for stormy today, so I went out looking for a good cloudscape. The clouds were indeed wonderful, but I was alerted by a gentleman walking his dog to a flock of 'storks' on the other side of the lake. He showed me a photo on his phone - American White Pelicans! (There are no storks in Wisconsin.)

White pelicans spend their winters on the coast but fly inland to north central US and southern Canada to breed. We are too far to the east for nesting, but we are on their migration route and they do turn up on local lakes from time to time. They are not exactly common though, and most people are quite surprised to learn that it's possible to see pelicans at all (I was amazed when I first saw them in Manitoba, years ago, so I can sympathize).

Anyway, I had great fun watching the pelicans fishing. They are cooperative feeders and the ten birds kept in a very close group. First they would line up, then the ends of the line would come together to form a  tight circle. Then they all went bill down, legs in the air like so many dabbling ducks. It was all very graceful and looked as though it was carefully choreographed. I watched them for about an hour going up and down along the lakeshore. 

Big thanks to the man with the dog - he might not have recognized them for what they were, but he certainly knew they were unusual and interesting.