The northernmost colony of the Chesapeake Bay’s brown pelicans now makes its home on Barren Island, just off the Dorchester County mainland. Most easily recognized by their large pouches, pelicans eat up to 4 pounds of fish a day!

Pelicans have extremely keen eyesight and can sometimes spot a single fish from as high as 70 feet above the water. Diving steeply, they usually come up with a pouch full.

Pelicans didn’t even nest in Maryland until 1987. Today, most of the state’s more than 7,500 pelicans are found near the mouth of the Bay. They nest in colonies, mostly on small, isolated coastal islands which provide protection from predators, where they build their nests on the ground, in bushes or in the tops of trees.

Illustration of Brown Pelican,
courtesy of John White

For more information:
A Pouchful of Possibilities:
The Happy Arrival of Brown Pelicans to the Chesapeake Bay Region