iN PHOTOS: Migrating pelicans stop for a rest on lakes in Okanagan, Kamloops

American white pelicans were spotted playing and napping on southern Interior lakes this week, pausing along their migratory route.

Peachland wildlife and landscape photographer Douglas Oggelsby saw a flock on Okanagan Lake and had to “whip back home to grab his camera.”

“I sat out there for at least half an hour watching them, they are stunning birds,” he said. “They love to fish and have their little ways about them. One or two birds were leading the flock. They did a circle of the area while the others were sleeping, then they all took off into the sky together, forming a V shape.”

American white pelicans are one of the largest North American birds, and their large heads and huge bills give them a prehistoric look. They travel and forage in large flocks sometimes going long distances in V formations, according to All About Birds.

They forage in shallow water on inland marshes, along lake or river edges, and in wetlands, and during migrations, they stop in similar habitats to forage and rest.

The birds work together when feeding to drive schools of fish to shallow water and then scoop them up in their big bills. They also try to steal food from each other and other birds.

They can be seen in B.C. Interior lakes for brief stopovers during their spring and fall migrations.

American White Pelicans in flight in the Shuswap. | Credit: SUBMITTED/ Valerie Walsh

Oggelsby has been a photographer since 2011 when he was stationed with the military in Chester, Virginia.

“It was an unbelievable area for bird watching and photography, you’d see at least twenty bird species at a time,” he said.

He’s since expanded from photographing birds to include all wildlife, landscape views and sunsets in the Okanagan area.

Go here to see more of his work.

American white pelicans swimming with a goose on a lake in the Shuswap. | Credit: SUBMITTED/ Valerie Walsh

Pelicans caught on camera on a lake in Vernon. | Credit: SUBMITTED/ Shane Cox

American White Pelicans over Okanagan Lake, Peachland. | Credit: SUBMITTED/ Douglas R Oggelsby

Pelicans swimming on Okanagan Lake, Peachland. | Credit: SUBMITTED/ Douglas R Oggelsby

— This article was update at 11 a.m. Monday, May 1, 2023, correct the spelling of Douglas Oggelsby's surname.

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