We get lots of pelicans at our place in Baja. More than the gliding, I
think seeing them flap their wings while soaring mere inches above a
two-foot groundswell is even more impressive. I keep expecting to see one
catch a wingtip on a slightly higher wavelet and crash, but it's never
happened.
The real gliders in that area are frigate birds. I've watched through
binoculars as they came over the mountain to the north, until they are out
of sight to the south, and never seen one flap. Probably at an altitude of
a couple of hudred feet though; they never seem to drop lower.
Vultures are also proficient gliders, and excellent at finding thermals for
additional lift.
On Sun, Jan 27, 2013 at 7:40 AM, Bob Whitmire <bwhitmire@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:
> I'm always fascinated by the pelicans when I visit my aunt's condo in
> Jupiter, FL. I don't think I ever see them flapping their wings. Always
> gliding. Kinda makes me want to come back as a pelican.
>
> --Bob
>
>
> On Jan 25, 2013, at 11:49 PM, Moose wrote:
>
> > You got it, no flapping at all. Between ground effect lift and the
> onshore breeze, the pelicans do a lot of effortless
> > appearing cruising. These are way above the water, but ride the rise
> form the bluffs without flapping.
> > <
> http://galleries.moosemystic.net/MooseFoto/index.php?gallery=California/Monterey_Carmel/June_2006/Point_Lobos&image=_MG_0319croofm.jpg
> >
>
> --
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