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My daughter has recently seen what she thinks are Pelicans flying overhead. I know there are some in St James's park, but do they really fly around the city a bit? We have looked up pictures of flying Pelicans on line and she feels sure that it is one of them...she says that usually they are being chased by crows....has anyone else seen this?
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Yes, I keep saying it must be a heron (we see those quite often) but she is quite adamant, (though not necessarily right!!!) She described it as white with a beak that is "rubbery and flappy at the bottom" (!). I think I am just hoping she was right as it would be a such great thing to spot. If the Pelicans in St James's are clipped then the pelican theory seems even more unlikely.

Well, according to this old article in the Evening Standard, one of the pelicans was not part of the 'collection' and just arrived one day, and thus does not have his wings clipped & has been seen flying in London:

http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-9473627/Mind-out-there-s-a.html


So I guess it's possible, as pelicans can apparently live 50 years!

Sorry, I don't have a login either, I was just basing it on the part of the article I could see! But it looks shorter now - weird!


From my cache, here's what I could see earlier:

AS THE old limerick goes, "a wonderful bird is the pelican". And Gargi is a little bit more wonderful than most.


Not only is he rather handsome (in an odd, pelican sort of way), he has become an expert at posing for the cameras and enjoys the distinction of being London's first pelican commuter.


He spends part of his time in St James's Park with its four permanent pelican residents. But unlike them he is an interloper, and has never had his wings clipped.


So when he feels a bit peckish - and being a chap "whose beak can hold more than his belly can", that is quite often - he simply flies off in search of more dinner.


Park manager Mark Wasileski said: "Gargi is often seen walking the park's paths. We have also had sightings of him on top of Primrose Hill admiring the view, down by the Thames fishing and at London Zoo where he goes for second helpings."


So frequent are Gargi's trips between the park and the zoo that he has become...


Publication: The Evening Standard (London, England)

Publication Date: 31-JAN-06

It's true that one of the pelicans in St James's park doesn't live there, but just visits, I remember my dad telling me years ago (and, obviously, everything my dad says is true).


But if "my dad says so" is not evidence enough I've seen it take off from the lake and fly away myself, so, gwod, you daughter may well have spotted a flying pelican...

ianr Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> If you're a small bird, be careful out there.

> http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1320429/Pe

> lican-swallows-pigeon-London-park.html


xxxxxxx


I don't understand this - the picture was also in Saturday's Guardian.


But I remember an identical picture a few years back - anyone else?


Is someone regurgitating (:) ) old photos, or has a pigeon made the same mistake twice?

Er, I think it's the sort of mistake that a pigeon doesn't make twice.


A quick search on 'pelican eating pigeon' does dredge up previous, like http://www.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6083468.stm. The names and credits there differ from the latest one.


There are also videos available on the theme, of I don't know how many distinct cases. The one I looked at seemed to be a different, straight grab-and-chomp job.


The pelican community is going to need a PR makeover, I think. And maybe protection from other snappers trying to tempt them into a follow-up.

@GWOD: I really LIKE the idea of a pelican being sighted in East Dulwich. I wish that I had seen it. It doesn't matter, not all that much, if what you interpreted as a pelican WAS a pelican. The concept is grand enough to stand on its own.


I spent two years in Galveston, on the Gulf of Mexico, where pelicans were yawnable and everyday. Pelicans are like flying handbags. They don't extend their necks in flight (as I remember), but instead S-curve them back against their stumpy broad torsos. Was this the profile that you and your daughter saw? I hope that it was.

lorna63 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> There is a Heron that flys all over London, I have

> seen it (assuming it's the same one) at Crystal

> Palace Park and also Ruskin Park.



I'm pretty sure it's the same one. It gets around a bit - I've also seen it in Dorset, Yorkshire and Crete!

felt-tip Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> It might not be the same one. MIGHT be. Probably

> is though.


xxxxx


Well, there was a family of three herons seen together on Peckham Rye lake earlier in the year - so there's at least a one in three chance it's not the same one :))

I was munching on a bit of toast one day, idley gazing out the kitchen window and did a double-take at the sight of a huge Heron standing on top of the hedge just 15 feet away. It became a regular visitor until my neighbour got round to netting over his fishpond.


From what I recall, Herons also retract their necks while flying btw.

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