“Lakespert” – Pelicans in Colorado?

Steve Lundt, CLM

Even I, the Lakespert, was surprised to see pelicans hanging out in Colorado when I first started sampling lakes. I mean, most of the Midwest and all of Texas come to Colorado in the summer to enjoy the mountains and cooler temperatures. So, I guess it makes sense for pelicans to do the same.

One body of water that I have monitored over the past 22 years has a local nickname – Pelican Lake. This lake is a reservoir, but thousands of American White Pelicans come to it every spring to ground nest and enjoy the buffet of young carp. I have enjoyed their company while reservoir sampling and have recently pondered what their impacts are to the overall health of the reservoir.

I am known as a carp hater, and I am happy to say that the largest benefit from the pelicans is most likely that they help keep the non-native common carp at bay. At least I hope they do. Pelicans seems to be the biggest threat to carp in Colorado. American White Pelican, unlike their close sister the Brown Pelican, hunt and feed in groups by swimming in a large semi-circle closer and closer to the shoreline. Then at the right moment when all the smaller carp are concentrated near shore, the pod of White Pelicans feast like they are at an all-you-can-eat seafood restaurant. Now they also excrete and process nutrients back to the water like any other waterfowl. However, my Lakespert’s natural sense tells me that these pelicans are doing more good than harm for the reservoir. I suppose they can be blamed for spreading carp if they happen to burp a fish up when they visit another lake. But how often does this happen?

Like many other migratory waterfowl, the pelicans are gone as fast as they showed up. The gangly pescatarians catch large thermal uplifts and quickly spiral to greats heights until they are just a white dot in the deep, blue sky. So high that I think they can see Texas or at least Oklahoma. Off they soar back to the Gulf coastal zone for another winter of warmer weather and a brackish diet.

To end with a fowl joke: What do Texans and White Pelicans have in common? They come to Colorado for the Rocky Mountain scenery in the summer but end up leaving with a big bill in the fall. Thank you. Thank you.

Steve Lundt, Certified Lake Manager, has monitored and worked to improve water quality at Barr Lake (Denver, Colorado) for the past 19 years. Steve is active with the Colorado Lake & Reservoir Management Association and is a past Region 8 director for NALMS and an active member since 1998.