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.

Pelican in San Francisco, Marina

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.

Pelicans in formation [montage]

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.

Pelican plunging into the water

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

Pelican at sunset in San Francisco

More pictures after the break!