Eat, Fly, Love

The Brown Pelican

This time of year my thoughts always drift southward.  My maternal grandfather, who died before I was born, left a legacy to our family that was rich beyond words.  He bought a small house at Laguna Beach, Florida from two sisters who were eager to sell.  This house is situated right on Highway 98 across from the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico.  Technically not "on the beach" but close enough. Although the family added to the house,  annexed a small house to it and could comfortably sleep four families, it was always affectionately known as "the beach cottage."

I grew up in Enterprise, Alabama, 90 miles north of Laguna Beach, but in very many important ways that stretch of beach to this day feels like home. The house has not been in our family for many years, but I still feel like I have part ownership in that beach. Of the many amenities that the sand and the water provided,  I always enjoyed watching the birds. Of the dozens of species of birds that inhabited the area, the three I saw the most were the sandpiper, the seagull and the pelican.  It was the pelican that intrigued me the most.  I love the attached description, "a comically elegant bird."  If you've watched a pelican for any length of time, these words need little explanation.

One thing about  pelicans that interests me is that they seem so intentional in their destination.  They fly low and slow, flying under the radar along the beach just above the water. They flap when they need to and then effortlessly glide along. I have often seen pelicans meeting each other going in opposite directions. Let's call the pelican flying west Jonathan and the one flying east Livingston.  Livingston seems just as intent as Jonathan to reach some distant point.  Where could they be going?  If there's something of interest and importance  in either place, why can't Jonathan stay where he is and Livingston stay where he is and both save themselves a lot of time and effort? Is the water always greener on the other side?

According to my sources, the pelicans are headed to their favorite fishing hole.   The reason they are flying so low in the first place is that they are ready to pounce on any fish they deem suitable for a meal.  But apparently, like any fisherman worth his salt, they have their favorite spots to fish. Jonathan just doesn't care for Livingston's fishing hole and vice versa.

Pelicans don't just enjoy flying, they also love to just stand.  They stand as centuries atop the pilings of piers. Pelicans were into mindfulness eons before the Chinese made it an art form and a way of life. I assume again that these birds are waiting for a fishing opportunity, but it looks like they just enjoy standing and watching. I know I enjoy watching them.

I can be envious at times of the animal kingdom, birds in particular.  All they do is nest, eat, fly and mate.  That's it. One could do worse than nest, eat, fly and mate.The brown pelican, once almost extinct, is now thriving on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.  The signs on the paths to the beach at Laguna now read "Private Beach. Owners Only".  The pelicans can spend as much time as they like there;  I can only drive by and remember.