Cranes and Pelicans

Stood on the beach this morning watching a squadron of brown pelicans dive-bombing the surf while a great blue heron stood perfectly still in the shallows twenty feet away. Two completely different approaches to the same breakfast menu.

The pelicans are all chaos and splash — climbing high, folding their wings, and plunging headfirst into the waves. They hit the water hard enough to send up a spray you can see from shore. Meanwhile the heron just stands there, statue-still, waiting for something to swim past those long legs. Then one lightning-fast strike and it’s over.

Counted twelve pelicans in one formation cruising just above the wave tops, and five cranes spread along the waterline. The pelicans win on spectacle, but the cranes win on patience. Different styles, same ocean.

On the sand dollar front — found three today near the waterline where the biggest heron was fishing. Not a bad morning. The cranes always seem to know where the good spots are.