Pelicans of Pearl Lake

Pelican Trio of Pearl Lake - July 2025

​The eastern sky is glowing, the mountains dark against the rising sun. Pearl Lake is silent, the early morning breeze riffling the glassy surface. I paddle steadily, skirting the lake’s edge, and look to the opposite shore, where I catch a flash of white against the grayish blue water. A few minutes later, I come upon the source of that white - three pelicans move easily amongst the grasses then out into the open water, their strong flipper-feet creating ripples that stretch behind and around them in a large wavy V. 

These are American White Pelicans, and they are native to Colorado. Their winter grounds are along the Gulf Coast, southern Texas, and as far as South America. 

In unison, the three angle their heads slightly to the side and back, the better to keep their literal side-eye on this stranger on a paddleboard. A couple summers ago, there was one lone pelican who seemed elected as the delegate. It paralleled my progress, keeping just a few yards away, never taking its calm, watchful eye away from me. The bird most likely had its reasons, but I attributed its behavior to part curiosity, part suspicion, and part hopeful that I might just have a large tasty fish I’d toss its way. 

The pelicans seem an ethereal presence in this alpine setting. They don’t blend the way the ducks and great blue herons do. They aren’t shy like the greater sandhill cranes, whose presence I am only aware of from their haunting calls echoing through the Pearl Lake valley. The pelicans move in a way that signals self-assuredness, confident of their place on this lake.

There are much larger nesting colonies throughout Colorado, in larger bodies of water. Why does this little group come here? Are they the same group year after year? Do they remember and return intentionally, or randomly find themselves at Pearl?

Imagine the daily feast they have, with Pearl’s fish population mostly all to themselves. Imagine how it would be to take flight over Pearl, wings stretching over four feet to either side, strong and sure.

Sources/Learn More

• Steamboat Magazine: The Pelican Brief
• NoCo Wildlife Center: June 3, 2025 Pelicans really do live in Colorado! 
• iNaturalist Guide: Wildlife of Steamboat and Pearl Lake State Parks: American White Pelican

Pearl Lake Pelican Trio Taking Off - July 2025