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Meet Hank ~

Lake Merritt's famous American White Pelican

Today I met a regal creature. I finally came face to face with Hank... Strangely enough, I was thinking of her yesterday... wondering when she will appear at the lake.. and there she was... For sometime she was mistaken as a male (hence the name). It suits her, as she is quite a character.

I had seen her in the water at a distance in the past.. but coming up so close to her today at only a few feet away, I was shocked at how large she was! She stood with a fixed gaze.. taking a few steps back, a few steps forward, look away, pose... Magnificent!

In 2004 Hank flew into a power line in Oregon, and was rescued. After it was determined she would not be able to fly again, she wound up in Oakland, at Lake Merritt's Rotary Nature Center. She is a strong swimmer, walker, and the biggest bird at the lake.

She has attracted free-flying white pelicans, which apparently never happened before her arrival. For the first three years in her new home, Hank was the only American white pelican on the lake. Then she got a visitor, a white pelican that would stay for a couple months at a time during the migratory season. After about a year, two more started showing up and then over the course of the last five and a half years, the population of American white pelicans has grown to between 13 and 23 pelicans.

So.. you can say Hank is not just Lake Merritt's most famous pelican, she rules!

It was an honour Hank ~ Hope to see you soon again!

White Pelicans are one of North America’s largest birds and have an 8-9 foot wing span. They are pure white with just black wing tips and a large yellow-orange bill. During breeding season, they have pale yellow crests and a flat rounded horn-like growth on the ridge of their bill. This growth is only found during breeding season and is shed after their eggs have been laid.

Lake Merritt / March 25, 2015