When it comes to pelicans, I usually pay much more attention to migratory American White Pelicans. Brown Pelicans are here all the time, so I rarely bother to photograph them unless I see something special.
And that’s what happened on a February trip to the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. I came across a couple of Brown Pelicans fighting over a fish that seemed way too big for either to handle.
It took a lot of time and a lot of attempts, but one of the Brown Pelicans finally managed to swallow the fish.
But they weren’t the only birds I photographed that day.
Brown Pelican, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, February 2026.Brown Pelican, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, February 2026.Brown Pelican, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, February 2026.Brown Pelican, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, February 2026.Brown Pelican, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, February 2026.Forster’s Tern, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, February 2026.Forster’s Tern, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, February 2026.Forster’s Tern, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, February 2026.Wilson’s Snipe, Brown Pelican, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, February 2026.Wilson’s Snipe, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, February 2026.Wilson’s Snipe, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, February 2026.Juvenile White Ibis, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, February 2026.Glossy Ibis, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, February 2026.Female Hooded Mergansers and Bonaparte’s Gull, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, February 2026.Bald Eagle and eaglet, Brown Pelican, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, February 2026.
UCF is one of my favorite places to spend time in the fall, cheering on the Knights football team with my family and friends. But it’s also become a place I like to go to in the spring and early summer, thanks to the variety of birds that call the UCF Arboretum home.
