By Allen L Phillips
Paying attention to being alive this week took us to the jetty between the San Diego River and the entrance to Mission Bay. Pat and I decided to go to the jetty to take a walk and see if the white pelicans were in town. No, that’s not a rock band, the American White Pelican is almost half again larger (108″ wing span) than the brown pelicans (79″ wing span) that we see cruising along our coast, and they visit here from inland lakes for just a couple of months a year. They forage for food completely differently from the browns, which dive spectacularly into the water after fish. The whites fish in groups of up to 10 swimming in a semi-circle herding fish ahead of them – then stab their substantial beaks into the water in unison to feed. We have seen them do this in the San Diego River channel. It is quite impressive.
They appear to be here now, although when we were there this week they were just hanging out on the sand bars out in the middle of the river channel making them hard to see. Be sure to take your binoculars. Looking from the jetty (south) side means you are looking into the sun this time of year. They are also visible, perhaps under better light conditions, from the parking lot at Rob Field on the Ocean Beach side of the River but the sand bar is still out in the middle of the channel and not accessible. These birds are no dummies. There is probably a better chance of seeing them feeding earlier in the day and then they would probably be up closer to the Sunset Cliffs/Sea World Drive bridge, the first bridge in from the ocean over the river channel.
Another discovery we made was the Aquarius Bar and Grill at 1548 Quivira Way, adjacent to the jetty, almost to the end of the road. All outdoors, they are set up with picnic tables and a walkup bar where you can order food and drinks, with live music on many days of the week. We went Wednesday afternoon, the day before Thanksgiving, had a late lunch and enjoyed the music of Bill’s Rockin’ Jazz Big Band. It was great to get out and do something different. The music was fun and the food was quite good and reasonably priced. We will be doing this frequently, especially as we keep an eye on the white pelicans.
“Paying attention to being alive” is a line from a poem by Jack Gilbert and came to my attention when quoted in The Yellow House, a compelling memoir by Sarah M. Broom.
allenlphillips 