Bird News: Birding & Wild Birds, Door County Pelicans & Cornwall Storks

The Long, Unhurried Wandering Years of Young Pelicans and Storks

09/01/2026

There was a summer when my idea of a good time was chasing the moon down back country roads in a fire red Ford Focus, decked out with the fanciest hubcaps the Walmart auto aisle had to offer.

I'd find a road where the moon sat right in the windshield, windows down, blasting what's now considered oldies, and just drive as fast as felt right. There was no destination and no plan, just the open road and figuring out who I was and what I could do.

Watching a flock of young pelicans loop and drift with nowhere urgent to be, it's hard not to recognize the feeling.

white pelicans perched together on sunlit coastal rocks near greenery, illustrating waterbird resting behavior, shoreline habitat ecology, and community science birding notes.
hand-drawn kingfisher feather emblem on a navy blue watch cap, minimalist bird watching apparel and warm outdoor gear for nature lovers
$28.00

Watch Cap

For the days spent tipping your head back to watch something that isn't in any hurry to land.

shop the Kingfisher Cotton Dad Hat

Door County's Young Pelicans Are Cruising the Sky

Charlotte Lukes was out monitoring bluebird boxes on a clear Sunday when nearly forty white pelicans appeared over Fairview Road, drifting and turning until they nearly vanished against the sky. These birds won't start breeding until they're three to five years old, which means the big looping flocks overhead are mostly younger pelicans with nowhere urgent to be.

Lukes also breaks down how to tell an eagle from a turkey vulture and a raven from a crow, all birds sharing the same stretch of sky for very different reasons. Some are hunting, some are commuting, and some are simply killing a Sunday afternoon like the rest of us.

See the full piece over at Door County Pulse here.

"They get imprinted on the place they first fly from,"
Yan Swiderski, founder of the Cornwall Stork Project

white storks foraging gracefully in a lush green meadow, highlighting tall wading bird habits, open field ecology, and nature conservation tracking.
artistic kingfisher feather illustration on a dark navy garden flag, unique backyard birding decor and outdoor nature gifts
$32.00

Roost Flag

A quiet landmark for wanderers, lost hours, and the eventual turn back home.

shop the Kingfisher Garden Flag

Cornwall's Newly Freed Storks Are Already Roaming

Across the Atlantic, a similar story is unfolding with an entirely different species. Twenty-one white storks were released in Cornwall this month as part of a project to bring the species back to the county after centuries away.

They won't be ready to nest for another three or four years, so for now they're doing exactly what you'd expect from birds with nowhere to be: one has already turned up eighty miles away in Devon, while a cluster of thirteen is still lingering around Bodmin Moor.

In the meantime, the project is focused on building up the insects, small mammals, and wetlands the birds will need once they're ready to settle down and raise young.

See the full piece over at BBC News here.

The next time you're out watching birds, or just out, let it remind you of your own version of adolescent exploration and wonder. That feeling of moving without a plan or chasing something just because it was beautiful, doesn't have to stay in the past.

You don't need a destination to notice what's happening in the sky above or the path in front of you.

Leave a comment

Please note, comments need to be approved before they are published.

read more

View all
1 3
View all
Plume
© 2026 plume
Terms of ServicePrivacy Policy