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Three White Pelicans at Mallard Slough San Jose 8-20-2026

White Pelicans Facts:

The White Pelicans have a 9-foot wingspan and weigh between 9.2 and 17 pounds.

Pelicans dip their bills to swallow fish

Most populations of American White Pelicans are migratory.

White Pelicans almost became extinct due to DDT pesticides during the 1950s/1960s from poor environmental laws but returned to health due to protection from pesticides.

White Pelicans generally live in the lakes, marshes, and salt ponds most of the time.

The birds are similar to Brown Pelicans except they are larger and don’t dive from the air for fish.

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Japanese Honey Vendor in Chichibu

Honey vendor at a farmer’s market near Chichibu

The Japanese honey bee is called Apis cerana japonica that is a subspecies of the eastern honey bee. They are found throughout Japan except for Hokkaido and Okinawa and they live in the mountains and in cities like Tokyo and Osaka. Historically honey was solely collected from Japanese honey bees for about 1400 years. However, in 1877 commercial beekeepers changed to the Western honey bee due to the higher honey production. In recent times Western honey produce the majority of honey in Japan. Fortunately the movement of preserving the Japanese honey bee has not diminished in part due to media coverage and biodiversity. The Japanese type are more docile nature, resistance to infectious diseases and cold weather, and have the ability to defend themselves against the Japanese hornet.

https://www.japan-natural-beekeeping.org/post/japanese-honeybee

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James Fitzgerald Marine Reserve Moss Beach, CA

 

 

James Fitzgerald Marine Reserve Moss Beach, CA

 

James Fitzgerald Marine Reserve is a beach with diverse marine life such as algae, crabs, sponges, sea-stars, mollusks, and fish. James Fitzgerald, a former San Mateo County board of supervisor president, passed a bill designating the Moss Beach tide-pool area as a Reserve. It is a great resource for studying marine life, the coastal ecosystem, and natural history. One current issue is impacting the marine reserve is over-tourism with over 130,000 people annually damaging the tidepools and is threatening to destroy this sheltered refuge. Hopefully the Marine Reserve staff and volunteers can control the over eager tourists visiting the reserve in the future.

 

 

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American Advocet

American Advocet at Alviso Slough in San Jose

 

The American Advocet is a shorebird with a long, a curved bill, a long neck, and round head. Breeding Advocet’s have a rusty head and neck that turns grayish white after breeding. It walks through shallow water looking for aquatic animals. Their habitat are fresh and saltwater wetlands, salt ponds, and evaporation ponds. During winter it uses inter-tidal mudflats, tidal lagoons, rice fields, and flooded pastures.

 

 

 

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Snowy Egret

 

 

 

 

 

Snowy Egrets are medium-sized herons with long, thin legs, and long slender bills. The adults have black bills, black legs, and yellow feet. Juveniles have duller, greenish legs. Egrets are generally 22.1-26 in or (56-66 cm) in length, weight about 13.1 or (370 g), and wingspan 39.4 (100 cm). The feed by wading in shallow water to spear fish and other small aquatic animals. They are common along the coast, mudflats, beaches, and inland wetlands.

 

 

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The Spider & Prey

 

 

 

Araneus diadematus or European Garden Spider

 

 

The spider

 

 

The web

 

 

The prey

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Milk Snail (Otala Lactea)

The Milk Snail (Otala Lactea) is a land snail in the species of gastropod whose habitat is Europe, North Africa, and North America. They eat greens, like broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, yucca plant, anise, and lily. The snails are identified by light brown with dark brown lines that spiral along the shells whorls. And they were a staple of diets to prehistoric humans and in modern times it is considered a favorite from Spain to Italy. In California and Mediterranean climates they can overrun and displace native snails and are seen as a serious pest.

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Two White Pelicans

 

 

 

 

White Pelicans on the Alviso Slough Trail at the Don Edwards SF Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Alviso (San Jose)

 

Largest North American birds

 

 

Live in lakes, marshes, and salt ponds mostly

 

 

Similar to Brown Pelicans

 

 

Don’t dive from the air for fish

 

 

 

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California Least Tern

 

 

 

California Least Tern at the Alviso Slough Trail at the Don Edwards SF Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Alviso (San Jose)

 

 

 

The California Least Tern is one of a few Tern species. They are still considered an endangered bird species. The bird is relatively small measuring ten inches with a wing length of four inches and weighing only 45-55 grams. Their diet consists of diving towards the water picking off fish just below the surface. California Least Terns are identified by a short, forked tail, and a long, slightly decurved, tapered bill. Their territory is only in the United States along the immediate coast of California from San Francisco Bay south to the Mexican border. But due to coastal development and intense human recreational use of beaches the numbers greatly diminished with numbers around 6,000 pairs today.