Manjula goes blogging...

I am sure many of you have watched pelicans gliding along the breaking surf, with wing tips just barely skimming the tops of the wave. But, have you noticed that they sometimes fly in front of the breaking wave and sometimes behind the wave? and have you wondered why? Perhaps you have noticed and know why, but I was enlightened only recently by an ornithologist-surfer friend…

In simple words: When the wind approaches a wave in the ocean, it has to rise to get around the wave. Pelicans take advantage of this upward movement of air for lift and forward motion by flying close to the wave. So, in an off-shore wind, pelicans will be seen gliding along the beach side of the wave. But when an on-shore wind is blowing, pelicans flying along the ocean skim the back of the waves. This use of air currents is technically known as “slope soaring” - it allows for reduced wing flapping, effortless gliding, and minimum energy expenditure. This fun is not just for pelicans and other ocean birds - recently, some California pilots have discovered how much fun ocean wave slope soaring can be!!