Bird Photo Competition 4 2015 : Entry Number 11

This interesting silhouette illustrates the stages of a pelican's dive

Fast Food Dive-Thru motion study. Edisto Island, SC, USA As a bird enthusiast, I am fascinated by the comical dive of the brown pelican. I did some research. What appears to be a clumsy belly flop drop, is actually a skillful guided dive bomb. The big bird stuns the fish on impact. A quick body turn and neck tuck make for safety. Pow! The dazed fish are quickly gobbled up. Practice makes perfect, as the older birds are more accurate, often dropping 50 feet or more, at 90 degrees to nab a meal. (How do they know this stuff?) As important as the bird, the camera caught the splash, so the sequence tells a story with an ending, a disappearing act. An animated still. Hats off to Eadweard Muybridge, the father of motion studies. Thank you Mike Atkinson, there were so many amazing shots submitted. 250 1/400 f/7.1 Allen McDavid Stoddard