42 Nebraskaland • March 2026
E
very spring and fall, Nebraska's
skies put on a show: the
migration of American white
pelicans. Although these birds are
massive, with wingspans close to 9
feet, they somehow glide through the
air as though weightless, and when
watching a flock circle and touch
down onto a sandbar or reservoir, the
experience feels almost prehistoric.
Conservationist Aldo Leopold wrote
in "A Sand County Almanac": "Let a
squadron of southbound pelicans but
feel a lift of prairie breeze … and they
sense at once that here is a landing
in the geological past, a refuge from
that most relentless of aggressors, the
future. With queer antediluvian grunts
they set wing, descending in majestic
spirals to the welcoming wastes of a
bygone age."
Leopold's words capture exactly
what pelicans make me feel when I
see them. They're like time travelers.
When they land in Nebraska's quiet
wetlands and wide-open prairies,
it's like they've found one of the
last pieces of the ancient world that
hasn't been modifid by humans. It's
a reminder of what's still wild — and
a quiet warning about how easily we
could lose it.
Prehistoric Bird
Everything about a pelican seems
ancient: Their long, scoop-like beaks;
the awkward, yet somehow majestic
way they take flight; and the sight of
them gathering in massive colonies —
just as they have for untold millennia.
Fossil records show pelicans have
been around for at least 30 million
By Monica Macoubrie
Ancient Travelers
American
White
Pelicans
American white pelicans gather at Whitney Lake Wildlife Management Area in
Dawes County. JUSTIN HAAG, NEBRASKALAND
