Birds and birders flocking: Rare American White Pelicans drop in on Juneau
- Laurie Craig
- Jun 23
- 4 min read
Two telephoto lens images of the visiting flock of 26 American White Pelicans show a recognizable view of the species’ typical large yellow bill with its skin pouch and black-tipped wings. The Thursday-Friday overnight visit was only the fourth reported sighting in Alaska. (Photos courtesy of Scott Fischer)
Until Thursday afternoon, the only flock of pelicans in Juneau were metal and cast as a sculpture that stands on a small outdoor plaza at the Hurff Ackerman Saunders Federal Building on 9th Street.
On June 19, a rare flock of 26 American White Pelicans was spotted at Echo Cove, at the end of Juneau’s mainland road system. Word passed quickly among the local birdwatching community who flocked with cameras, binoculars and spotting scopes to see for themselves.
Previous recorded sightings in the 1980s and 1990s listed only solitary birds seen in Petersburg, Klawock and Ketchikan. Unlike Brown Pelicans which are coastal birds and commonly seen in California, Oregon and Washington, American White Pelicans have only been seen three times in other areas of Alaska. The species’ normal habitat is 600 miles east of Juneau in the prairie provinces of Canada’s freshwater lakes areas in British Columbia and Alberta. Occasionally white pelicans have been reported as far as the Northwest Territories, but only inland.
One local birder suggests the unusual wind pattern this week blowing from the east gave the big yellow-billed birds a tailwind to make their flight easier over the Juneau Icefield and Coast Mountains. Observers reported the flock tucked their heads into their back feathers for a much-needed rest after arriving at a sand spit near the confluence of Echo Cove and Berners Bay. They have not been seen since midday Friday.
Kari Monagle was the first birder who photographed the flock after she was notified by fisherman Steve Box who knew the Juneau Audubon Society board member would be interested. Box’s initial photo was a long-distance image, but he recognized the birds from seeing them previously in Montana which is their normal range. He was in his boat near the mouth of Echo Cove and watched the pelicans "feeding aggressively," he told Monagle.
Shortly after learning about the pelicans, Monagle drove to the end of the road and found the flock floating in Echo Cove not far from the boat launch ramp. She was able to quietly watch and photograph the birds which moved in unison while keeping their heads nestled into back feathers, a common resting and roosting position.
Bird watching is a popular and growing activity. For many years the Juneau Audubon Society has offered free spring Saturday bird identification walks around town as well as winter lecture programs. In April, the local Audubon group partnered with Southeast Alaska Land Trust to host a citizen science education program to teach people how to access the online birding site eBird which compiles global and local bird sightings, photos and audio in a publicly available format. The eBird project is managed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. An introduction for the site can be viewed on YouTube.
As education chair for the local Audubon chapter, Monagle was eager to share the unique pelican sighting with fellow birders. The big news spread rapidly as people visited Echo Cove and other nearby locations searching for the white pelicans. They were last seen flying at about 1 p.m. Friday.
There have been various imaginative tales told about the origin of the federal building pelican sculpture, particularly because the birds are rare in Alaska. One story tells of the sculpture mistakenly being shipped to Juneau’s federal building while another sculpture featuring either gulls or ravens got shipped to Hawaii as both states were newly admitted to the union during a similar time period. The mixup left each community with questions about whether the shipping containers were mislabeled. Another fanciful account says the artist saw the name Pelican on the map of Southeast Alaska, but did not realize the name referred to a small coastal community that was named after a fishing vessel. More research is needed to not disparage the historic origins.
Although the actual birds may have departed Juneau, the Tom Hardy sculpture of diving pelicans can be seen any time outside the federal building and downtown post office entrance. The sculpture was created in the 1960s at the time the federal building was being built. More examples of the renowned sculptor’s work can be seen at various Oregon museum and gallery sites online.
• Laurie Craig is a former naturalist and interpreter at the U.S. Forest Service’s Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center, artist and historical writer.
