Pelican at Kingscote,
Kangaroo Island, South Australia

by Joanne Louise Gallagher
(Queensland)

It was the last day of a bus tour on Kangaroo Island. The bus driver stopped at a town called Kingscote so we could watch a pelican feeding. It happens at the same time every day.

I was amazed that the pelicans know to fly into the bay area at the same time every afternoon. And they come to the same rocky area near a jetty where a man arrives with buckets of fish for the pelicans. Tourists and local people gather on the rocks to watch the frenzy unfold.

The South Australian pelicans are much larger birds than the pelicans I see in Queensland. Would someone that writes into TOMM know why? I would love to be enlightened with knowing the reason.

Karen's response:

Thanks for sharing this wonderful photo and story Joanne.

Aren't pelicans amazing? I imagine they can pack a lot of fish into that bill of theirs!

That's interesting that the South Australian pelicans are larger than the Queensland ones. Hopefully someone can enlighten us...