A couple of pelican pals

These two seem to be spending the autumn and winter at Lake Merritt in downtown Oakland, Ca. There are lots of white and brown pelicans around - my namesakes! Brown pelicans live near the coast, and migrate southward later in autumn. Lake Merritt is brackish - a mixture of salt and freshwater, so the brown ones go after ocean/Bay fish. White pelicans spend their summers in mountain lakes, some live as far away as the Rockies, but spend their winter near California's coast.