Viewed from the Embarcadero in San Francisco, these pelicans were flapping there wings to fly. Usually lines of pelicans would glide past.

A brown pelican reflected itself as it flew over the water next to the cruise ship anchored in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

The interloper pelican spread its wings in preparation to fly a dozen feet to a slightly different part of the wharf. That later position placed it nearer to a fisherman's bait. To see the full story:

A closeup of the pelican who appeared to pose on the railing of the wharf with Monterey Bay behind it just an hour before sunset. To see the full story:

A closeup of the head of the pelican who appeared to pose on the railing of the wharf with Monterey Bay behind it just an hour before sunset. To see the full story:

This pelican appeared to pose on the railing of the wharf with Monterey Bay behind it just an hour before sunset. To see the full story:

This one brown pelican was brave enough to land on the railing of a dock filled with people fishing, shopping, and on the way to restaurants. To see the full story:

Of a small group of pelicans on the stone breakwater, only two were preening their feathers.

This pelican was found perched on a narrow board that was part of a small dock just outside Bodega Bay. A hard rain had just ended.

Five pelicans flew near the water just after sunset but still well before full darkness.

Two pelicans stood in almost identical poses on the breakwater just off Pier 39 in San Francisco. This breakwater is just beyond the Pier 39 sea lions.

Pelicans snoozed on the deck outside a restaurant's windows.

Pelicans congregate on the roof of a restaurant on the Monterey Wharf.

A brown pelican flew over the calm water of the bay in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Seen from the Embarcadero in San Francisco, these four pelicans flew in line low to the water in search of fish.

In a pond near Westminster, four pelicans rested at the shallow end. One hid its head, and one looked the other way.

The sun was just setting in warm Key West when this pelican came into view.

A brown pelican in Monterey Harbor had just begun to flap its wings to take off. This is just before that first flap, while the water is still largely undisturbed.