a brown pelican

a brown pelican

preening on the dock lifts her

long neck to the sun

Brown Pelicans are common all along the Yucatán coast, often perched on a post or diving into the turquoise water for fish. While waiting for the ferry on Cozumel island, I watch a female on the dock preening her feathers, lifting her long neck and opening her long beak, as if she's serenading the sun. Under the dock, a white-headed male paddles around, dives for a fish, then gulps it down. These sea birds are so large, I am amazed that they can lift their bodies up into the air, but they do fly, usually low over the water, often in single file like a line of bombers. When they spot a fish, they dive, folding their wings and hitting the water beak first with a huge splash.