Two Days Along the Mississippi
American White Pelicans
I’m back at home after a mini-vacation to Prairie du Chien on the Mississippi River in southwestern Wisconsin. The pelicans are American White Pelicans on Lake Pepin in Fountain City. All three of the birds are breeding adults as marked by the knobs sticking up from their bills. The knobs are present during breeding. After eggs are laid, the knobs fall off.
The other photos were taken either from atop the bluff at the Effigy Mounds National Monument or on the floodplain in the Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge.
I’ve included two shots taken last year of non-breeding adult pelicans without the knobs.
