Tales from Kobi: The Flight of the Pelicans

Sometimes the week seems long. My mom goes off early in the morning for days in a row. She always pats my head before she leaves as she say, "I'll see you later ... be a good boy." And out she goes. I sleep and eat and drink my water. I watch the world go by from my chair beside the window. So, as you can imagine I'm anxious, and hopeful, when the weekend comes that Mom will take me for a walk.

She had lots of work to do yesterday and was gone most of the day, just like on her work days. When she got home she was really happy because she got a book project done she'd been working on for a long time.

I wondered if she would take me for one of those long walks we often take on weekends.

Yay! Today we went to Walden Ponds in Boulder.

We saw geese and goslings, ducks and other shore birds ...

... and on our way back she was a bit disappointed at not seeing much out of the ordinary ... then there they were ... the American White Pelicans and oh my, did they give an extraordinary air show.

It made Mom so happy to see these graceful birds glide through the air as if dancing on the wind. They circled for quite some time and her camera clicked continuously capturing their movement in seconds. We sat watching. As they hovered over the water their reflections followed them.

The pelicans come by again, and again ... there were five of them flying in formation ... synchronized .... Notice the funny growths on the bills of a couple of them (the left-most two). Look real close. They only have those during breeding season. It is shed after they lay their eggs.

Did you know pelicans can hold up to three gallons of water in their pouches? and their wing span is 8-9 feet! Wow, huge birds!!

I love to see my mom happy. And as she enjoys herself, I wait.
It was a fine day ...