Pelican Jack came again to visit the Polaris! He has been landing on our bow in the evenings for two and a half years. Of course we can't be sure that it is always the same bird, but pelicans are a long lived species and this individual always behaves in the same way; perhaps it really is Jack who visits us, week after week. He is attracted to the ship because our lights attract fish. He is no fool. He enjoys a nocturnal fishing spree. This is undoubtedly a learned behavior and not something that a pelican could consider in the absence of the artificial light created by our ship.
Brown pelicans are plunge divers. Their dives are much more ungainly than the elegant, splashless dives of boobies. And unlike boobies they do not completely submerge and chase their prey underwater. Instead they scoop a pouch full of water (with fish, too, hopefully) and then let the water slowly drain out before swallowing any fish they may have engulfed.
There are 8 species of pelicans found worldwide. The brown pelican found in Galapagos is the same species that is wide spread along both the coasts of North and South America. These birds suffered greatly from eggshell thinning in the DDT era, but their populations are once again strong and they are now a common sight in coastal areas.
Our guests enjoyed a delicious meal yesterday evening after a visit to the Charles Darwin Station and a hike in the highlands of the island where we watched vermilion flycatchers and giant tortoises. I am not sure what Pelican Jack did all day, but when the moon was full and overhead, he too had a tasty dinner on Polaris.
