Left Behind

Several weeks ago I bid farewell to the beautiful white pelicans at White Rock Lake.

Each year their arrival heralds the onset of winter and their departure anounces

the birth of spring.  I was fortunate to witness several hundred of these ancient

souls blanketing the sky as they joined forces with other pelicans returning to

their summer homes.  So Saturday a week ago during a visit to the lake,

it was a great surprise to scan the waters and see...

one lone pelican.

At first I felt excitement at having another photography chance...but then I

realized that something must be wrong for him to not have joined the others.

For several hours on Saturday, and then again on Sunday,

I watched his behavior in an attempt to try to understand why he stayed behind.

He did the normal pelican stuff..standing around...

scratching...

mouth antics...

neck stretches...

feather ruffling, and...

preening.

However, over the course of the weekend, I noticed a few things.

(1)  I never saw him go into the water;

(2) I never saw him take to the air; and

he spent a LOT of attentive time to his left wing area.

Yes, something was definitely wrong and I wasn't going to leave the lake

until I discovered what it was.  My perseverance paid off and 

before we left on Saturday I knew the answer.

My jaw dropped when I saw the wing damage and the gaps in the brown area of

the lower wing that I could actually see through to the water behind it.

(The next photo is this one enlarged so you can see closer just how bad it is.)

I couldn't help but cry for the poor thing because it just breaks my heart knowing

that this magnificent creature will spend his last days land bound and all alone.

Yes, I know all about the Circle of Life...but I still feel badly for him.

 I'm not sure what could have damaged his wing that severely unless it was one of the

MANY unleashed dogs which run rampant at the lake, in spite of it being against the law. 

I've witnessed them charging into the water and sending ducks, cormorants, geese,

Snowy Egrets and Great Herons rocketing into the air,

so it's not impossible that during one of the pelican's shore fishing excursion

or resting period that a dog could have attacked it.

As I watched him scan the skies, I wondered if he was yearning to be airborne,

or searching to see if any of his friends had returned...or both.

May his memories sustain him through the blistering Texas summer.