How far would you fly for a good meal?

Our pelicans fly from Redberry Lake, where two or three hundred pairs nest, to Saskatoon's weir for a chance to fish for their dinner. This is a round trip of about 100 kilometers. The American White Pelican has been known to go on "foraging trips" like this routinely, sometimes travelling as much as 240 kilometers in total!

Pelican fact

When pelicans take off, they like to do so against the wind, if there is a significant breeze. When they get up in the air, they fly, on average, at about 45 kilometers per hour.

Here is a lovely shot of a group of pelicans at Last Mountain Lake. Photo by Creighton's Harvey Schmidt.

White Water or Whitewash?

This is what the White Water Committee says on its FAQ page:( http://saskwhitewater.wordpress.com/saskatoon-whitewater-park/ )

"Public consultations conducted by the City of Saskatoon on the original waterpark proposal indicated there was strong public support for the proposal. Will the public support this new joint proposal? we are confident that the public will fully endorse this new proposal. Combining an economically viable “green power” facility with a whitewater recreational park will creat a one-of-its-kind facility in the world that will showcase Saskatoon’s commitment to the environment and to the health and recreation of its population."

Pelican Watch would like to point out that the City has conducted no public consultations. The White Water Committee set a tent up down by the weir about a year and a half ago and did an informal, unscientific poll of passersby. Could it be that White Water supporters knew about this event ahead of time and were on hand to add their opinions to this poll? The "new idea" for both a water park and a hydro dam conveniently combines a highly questionable, environmentally invasive aquatic playground with a very expensive set of underwater turbines. Is this an attempt to give the white-water idea "green credibility"?

Who can tell what machinations have gone on behind the scenes? But we're pretty convinced that many people in Saskatoon aren't going to support either idea.

Today is an official Pelican Watch Day of Inaction

Dear fellow pelicanistas, today is Sunday, an ideal day to spend strolling or biking through our beautiful river valley.

When you go down to the river today to walk the dog, have a long run, or sit on a bench by the weir and anticipate the return of the pelicans, you will be participating in our first official "Day of Inaction."

We at Pelican Watch have vowed to "take care of the river that cares for us." What do we love about the river? So many things--too numerous to mention--but underlying them all is the fact that the river as it courses through our city is essentially itself, a living entity, the centre of a sensitive riparian ecosystem which we are fortunate enough to be able to observe and be part of.

We can live with our river, and not against it. We can go with the flow, and that's what we suggest you do today.

Enjoy!

Meewasin Valley Authority Survey

http://www.meewasin.com/

Participate in the Meewasin Valley Authority Survey. This is an opportunity to let Meewasin know that we have choices about how our river valley is developed--or, perhaps more importantly, what needs to be left undeveloped. Sometimes nature can't be improved upon...

Another lovely photo by Harvey Schmidt.

Apparently the collective noun for pelicans isn't

as established, or as agreed upon as it is for these birds: a murder of crows, a bellowing of bullfinches, an exaltation of larks... Some think the pelican version should be "a pod of pelicans," others prefer "A pouch of pelicans," but we like the grand sound of "a panache of pelicans."

What you will soon see at the weir! Noise, excitement, noise, action! Of course, the pelicans won't mind...

The Case of the Missing Pelicans

Check out the white water committee website: http://saskwhitewater.wordpress.com/saskatoon-whitewater-park/

Interesting reading, yes? Were you puzzled, as we were, that there is no mention of the pelicans who fish at the weir, or the geese who nest on the river island? In fact, this page is a bird-free zone, a veritable no-fly zone, even though the words "environment" and "environmental impact" are used quite often.

What does the word "environment" mean, if not the wildlife, muskrats and weasels, the gophers and meadowlarks, the geese and ducks, the goldeneyes and goldeye, the pike and walleye, the foxes and coyotes, the cormorants and pelicans, that inhabit it? Could it be that the following phrase is meant to contain all of this, and more: "a whitewater recreational park will creat [Editor's note: we think that they mean "create," with an "e"] a one-of-its-kind facility in the world that will showcase Saskatoon’s commitment to the environment..."?

Many people have voiced their concerns about the fate of our pelicans, and yet, there's not a word about the effect this mega-project would have on them.

They feel free to conclude that hordes of folks in brightly coloured toy boats, whooping and hollering as they bounce like so many overgrown corks down the pseudo-rapids, will demonstrate Saskatoon's commitment to the environment. But they don't dare speculate about the pelicans and other birds and wildlife that frequent the area (or should we say "environment") around the weir.

Could it be that, in the mind of the authors of this page, the birds are already gone?

Here's a spectacular photo of a pelican fellow--note the "breeding nose bump"--by Harvey Schmidt of Creighton, Sk.

Below you will find a pelican inspired poem by Saskatchewan poet, Gerald Hill, author of several books of poetry, the most recent being My Human Comedy. His newest book, 14 Tractors, has just been released and will be launched in Regina this Friday.

Pelican Air


pelican real:
the kind of evening you’d think is November
that chill but brighter
more like what it really is
June third
and pelicans on the water

flocks of twenty-four
scattered though the country like
hands tossed over an edge

enter the pelican:
a low glider belly to belly
on top of the river
and on through reflections of the trees

rise and veer left at the bridge about a half-mile away

pelican error:
it’s usually something other than a pelican
a towel on a hotel windowsill
a white hat in a car beyond the trees

sooner or later the Bird Club will spot one
that is really one
returning on its wide arc to the sand

pelican payday:
the day they hit Saskatoon and slosh
water around closing
their bills on bits of fish
thousands of vectors
swimming into range

pelican science:
slick with the look of hairlines over the weir
the water must mean something
if it seats you long enough

pelican happenstance:
two cars stop
hooded figures step out
confer and tussle

their commotion matches
the modest roar of water
the pelicans appear to sleep
lost in stillness
floating on the current below the weir

a shout and one figures loses
its balance and falls
hitting the water as a squawk
of pelicans rising

pelican lore:
young boys and girls ride the backs of pelicans
to and from their rites of initiation the adventure
involves a haircut (the ritual scissor)
and body wounds (the ritual stone)

pelican companion:
in a future life I’ll hip-wade
to fish for what happens
before and after water falls

our fighting pelicans:
symmetrical as crossed swords
pelicans line the air like water
unison winging I paint black
fringes on my upper arms and salute
the mighty Pel’

exit the pelican:
old pelicans die
in the sanctuary marshes
overgrown