I confess to having a life long affinity for the gangly pelican. Memories of my childhood include watching great flocks of pelicans swooping along the tops of the waves during vacations in Baja and beach days at Huntington Beach. One part prehistoric and the other part grace in motion, these giant birds usher in feelings of effortless freedom and it seems that my gaze is always pulled toward them when they soar by.

when photographing the surfing scene, I spend hours at the edge of the ocean focused on a 20 foot square shown in the viewfinder. there are, however, gaps in the action as one waits for the next set. In those moments, I often pull my eye away from the viewfinder and allow myself to see the wider picture as if I was seeing it for the first time. It is this change from narrow focus to large that allows the brain to fully appreciate one’s surroundings. It is the moment when one really sees the changing colors of the seas, the fins of dolphins beyond the lineup, and the incoming flocks of seagulls making their treks up and down the coast.

Here in Southern California, we see mostly Brown Pelicans along the coast. Because they are seen all year, I used to believe they simply lived here and just flew around to do their fishing. But no, pelicans actually migrate every year. In the autumn, they leave their hunting grounds as far north as Canada and migrate all they way into Mexico for the coldest months. They have breeding grounds in Mexico as well as the Channel Islands. These migrations, while annual, are really quite slow as the pelican knows no rush!

As a kid, I remember huge flocks numbering upwards of 50 pelicans at a time. Today, it is rare to see more than 15 flying together. Apparently, the pelican is struggling today because of overfishing of sardines, their main diet. Some describe the situation as a sardine “crash” and the immediate toll is on the flocks of pelicans.

It is hard to imagine a day at the beach without watching these magnificent birds gliding, diving and fishing around us. I hope they survive this current crises just as they did the DDT one in the 70s. In the meantime, I will always appreciate their grace as I simultaneously acknowledge their struggles.