Pelicans of the San Francisco Bay Area

     

One of the Bay’s largest birds, pelicans are a familiar sight around San Francisco Bay and the Coast from Summer through Winter.

Their flying gracefully in perfect single line formations with magical synchronization of moves and their spectacular head-long dives, makes them a remarkable subject for landscape and nature photography.

The image above is a montage of eight photos in which I captured two pelicans flying in formation. As a result, you will notice how precisely the follower (bottom) repeats the movements of the leader (top) .

I am deeply fascinated by these creatures. I could spend hours just watching them zipping inches over the water before they return higher to plunge into their catch.

Here my little tribute to this majestic bird, from a collection of pictures taken over the last two years or so.

More pictures after the break!