It's really possible. Believe me. Read on to know how! All you need is a little patience.
I saw this Spot billed pelican (Pelecanus philippensis), a Near threatened species, glide smoothly in on his landing and thought "Wow! Wish I could do this".
That thought did not leave my head. It was kind of "Wish I could fly" type of childish wish I thought. Whenever I see this image, that thought returns. Let me start at the beginning though.
It was just after I had move to a new city to start a new work project. I had heard a lot about flamingoes that are almost resident in a lake in the city. So I decided to go find them. I did not find any on that day and found them eventually but that is another story for another day..
Those days I was even more an amateur at wildlife photography than I am today. Had now clue of what is a good time to go out for photography or when the wildlife was more active. So - I got up 'early' (for a Sunday - in my old ways) at 7:30 and set out for the lake around 9-9:30 after a very leisurely Sunday morning coffee. I arrived near the lake at 11 AM. NOW I know that by 11 AM most of the wildlife photographers are back home, having wrapped up their morning photography session. No wonder- I found an empty lake shore, devoid of any people AND birds!!
Consoling myself that this can be a recce mission, understanding the lay of land and all that, I was walking around in the hot sun. A shadow of a large bird overhead made me squint into the sun. I was disappointed to note that it could not have been a flamingo due to it's shape. I followed the bird and caught it in my lens as it started flying over the lake. It was a Pelican!!!
It's a Pelican!
My own click
Cool. At least my trip was not a total waste of time. I followed the pelican around and tried to get more shots. Then I saw it coming in for a landing on the lake surface. I ran and set up to get a shot just as it landed. This was the shot.
Gliding on water
My own click
Notice that cool pose as it just skims on the surface of the water with it's webbed feet. The splash of water frozen in the frame also adds to the effect.
Like I said above, seeing this pic always prompts me to wish I could glide or walk on water.
Can we walk on water?
Yes we can! We do not have to be some miracle worker or a holy man to walk on water. Each and every one of us, capable of walking on ground can also walk on water.
Impossible you say? Believe me, it's really possible. It has nothing to do with how the pelicans glide either. It is just pure science and nature. Let me give you a hint...
Walking on water (Frozen!)
Image credit
Hahahaha. It's possible - isn't it? All we need to do is wait for winter and let the lakes freeze. Then we can walk on water. Ice is water - just in another state out of it's 3 different states - solid, liquid and gaseous. Elementary Physics!!
Sorry for pulling your leg. Just letting you know the chain of thoughts associated with my wildlife pics.
Information about the bird
Name: Spot billed pelican
Scientific name: Pelecanus philippensis
Size: Around 120-150 cm (48-60 inches)
Conservation status: Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)
Description (based on e-bird, Wikipedia and my observations): Also known as the "grey pelican", this member of the pelican family is found from Southern Iran to South-east Indonesia. It prefers sea coast and large lakes as its habitat. These pelicans are colonial breeders. They mostly eat fish, caught in the pouch at the lower portion of the bill.
Information about photograph
- Aperture: F5.6
- ISO: 400
- Shutter: 1/2000
- Support: Handheld shot
- Camera: Nikon D500
- Lens: Nikkor 200-500mm
- Image format: Photo clicked in RAW and edited for presentation sizing
A big thank you for support
Thanks to c/hive-106444 (Feathered friends community) for providing this wonderful opportunity to present my experience and photographs. Thanks to @barbara-orenya and @melinda010100 for all the support and encouragement to this community. Special thanks to @nelinoeva also for starting the Species hunt initiative. My posts are not exactly in that format but have all the necessary info and Good original Photos. Further guidance will be very much welcome.
Thanks to HIVE for this wonderful platform. Thanks also to @adalger and @dna.org for encouraging me by recognizing some of my posts as worthy of Densifying nature project.
Further, thanks to Amazing nature community @hive-127788 for welcoming me and showing me their love on some of my posts.
Note: All images and collages in this blog are created by me, based on photos clicked by me personally and/or free vector images from Pixabay
Quotes used, if not credited, are either from unknown authors or are proverbial old sayings.
