Brown Pelican in PA! ~ August 3, 2009

Thanks to Bob Schutzky's great find, I was able to get to see and photograph a Brown Pelican in Pennsylvania! The bird was in the Susquehanna River near the Peach Bottom power plant. Peter Robinson and Jason Horn put me on the bird when I finally got down there but it was a long way off. So with nothing to lose, I started hiking upriver where I luckily met up with a cabin owner named Charlie who allowed me to use his boat dock as a vantage point. I got some nice looks at the bird as it floated downstream past me. Charlie said he's been there since 1951 and couldn't believe that he was seeing a pelican from his dock. He was almost as excited about it as I was. Soon after, Jason Horn joined us and Charlie asked if we wanted to take a ride out in his boat since he was planning to give it a run anyway. So, off we went. He very slowly idled up to the side of the bird where we were able to get some photos of it. Jason got better ones than I did since the boat vibrated a little and his lens has a stabilization feature on it. Here's one of mine.

Brown Pelican near Peach Bottom, Lancaster County. This bird represents the 5th record for Pennsylvania.

A special thanks goes to Bob for finding the bird and getting the word out to all and to Frank & Barb Haas, Tom Garner, and Peter Robinson for their assistance in getting me to the spot.

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