Mr. Red Pouch.
And in case you have not noticed, the red pouched Brown Pelicans are coming into their own already and fast .....Things are heating up ....Of 26 adult birds noted, 5 that had at least some red coming in already though I suspect this trait is becoming increasingly shared between the two morphs (?). Maybe soon a bird with a completely red pouch will be hard to find....Or does this color hold true from one generation to the next between the two forms? For the newbies, I guess I state that the red-pouched form of Brown Pelican is not native to Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico waters, coming instead from the west coast years ago...Too much history thereto get into but you can read up on it elsewhere.
Will be attending the workday on Sundown Island (colonial waterbird breeding site in Matagorda Bay) this coming Saturday and expect to see hundreds of Brown Pelicans. Will keep an eye out for those red pouches. At some time in the past Winnie Burkett, Chester and I estimated the percentage of red-pouched birds. I think it was around 5% but could be a bit more.
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