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The pelicans come back

The pelicans come back

It is already late afternoon, in Tacarigua lagoon. In a small boat, awaiting silent and static, near the edge of the mangrove swamp, we distinguish different bird flocks returning to their resting place to spend the night. Very early in the morning, they will fly again, in order to spend the day exploring their fishing grounds.

The aerial show is recurrent; it repeats every afternoon. For park visitors, it is something like a ritual consisting on seeing the sunset adorned by flying colored spots: herons, gulls, pelicans, frigate birds and corocoras.

During the day you see pelicans fishing, hitting the water surface with their bodies, and filling their throat with the fish sighted from above. The gulls watch and pursue them to steal their fish catch, settling exactly on their heads when the pelicans come out of the water with their booty.

Their " V " flight pattern is characteristic. They return at dusk to their sleeping site. While they rest, they pay the swamp back by concentrating their corporal waste on precise places. This way, they contribute with maintenance and growth of the swamp, creating a very desirable mutualism in the Tacarigua mangrove community.

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