Florida Waterbirds: Brown Pelicans, White Ibises, and Egrets

Photographed in Florida in 2009, this series documents four waterbird species: Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis), White Ibises (Eudocimus albus), Great Egrets (Ardea alba), and Snowy Egrets (Egretta thula). Although all may occur along shorelines and in shallow water, they are not all shorebirds in the narrower ornithological sense. Brown Pelicans are seabirds, while ibises and egrets are wading birds.

Brown Pelicans catch fish by plunge-diving and commonly gather or nest in colonies along estuaries and mangrove islands. White Ibises probe mud and shallow water for crustaceans and other small prey. Great and Snowy Egrets stalk fish, shrimp, and aquatic invertebrates in fresh, brackish, and saltwater wetlands.

These birds depend on productive wetlands, estuaries, mangroves, and relatively undisturbed resting and nesting sites. Habitat loss, altered wetland conditions, pollution, fishing-line entanglement, and repeated human disturbance can reduce feeding or breeding success. Maintaining distance from bird colonies, respecting protected areas, and removing litter and discarded fishing line help reduce pressure on Florida’s waterbirds.