Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhyncos)

Abundance: Very Uncommon (13 records in  6 counties, 3 in Kentucky and 3 in Tennessee); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts are too few to determine a trend for the population migrating through the Region (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Transient during spring (6 records) and fall (6 records); 1 record of uncertain date, but probably fall; photograph (Linda J. Woody; Cumberland County, Tennessee; 14 March 2011; see also links to photographs [below]).

Regional High Count: 29 (19 April 2009; Cumberland County, Tennessee; Marc Lipner, Edmund K. LeGrand).

Information on Records: 

24 October 1987 (1) Burnside Marina, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (fide Jackie B. Elmore; Stamm 1988a), photo.

25 October 1988 (2) mouth of Wolf Creek, Lake Cumberland, Russell County, Kentucky (fide L. Andrews; Stamm 1989a).

26 November 2002 (1) Grass Island near Bailey's Point, Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (David L. Roemer photo; Busroe 2003a).

Summer or early fall 2004 (6) Lake Karen, Warren County, Tennessee (fide R. Gregg Garrison), photo (date and photographer unknown).

19 April 2006 (1) between Bailey's Point and Peninsula, Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (Mike Vessels fide David L. Roemer).

25–27 October 2007 (1) Grass Island and Goose Island, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (T. Aaron Hulsey, David L. Roemer photo).

11 November 2008 (1) Fishing Creek Recreation Area, Lake Cumberland, Pulaski County, Kentucky (Roseanna M. Denton photo).

9 April 2009 (6) Skaggs Creek, Barren River Reservoir, Barren County, Kentucky (Betty Norris fide Libby Stuart and David L. Roemer, Anita May photo).

19 April 2009 (29) Lake Tansi, Cumberland County, Tennessee (Marc Lipner fide Edmund K. LeGrand photo).

28 March 2010 (5—in flight) Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (David L. Roemer, David Brown).

29/30/31 October/1/5/12/14–25 November  2010 (3/6/3/6/6/1/1) Barren River Reservoir, Barren/Allen counties, Kentucky (David L. Roemer [all dates] et al.).

14 March 2011 (14) Lake St. George, Fairfield Glade, Cumberland County, Tennessee (Tim J. Woody photo, Linda J. Woody photo [see also Status above]).

14/24 March 2011 (6/2) Sullivan's Bend Rd., Smith County, Tennessee (Greg Woods/Danny Stone).

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Habitat: Moderate- to large-sized bodies of water.

Remarks: The pelican found on Barren River Reservoir during late November 2002 and the pelican found there during October 2007 were never seen within Barren County but were sighted and photographed within Allen County only a few hundred meters from Barren County; in all probability each entered Barren County during its stay on the reservoir.  This matter became of little concern when it was decided c. 2007 to count all birds sighted on or over the reservoir as part of the UCR avifauna and not to be concerned with the exact county that they were in.

    The record in Warren County, Tennessee, is still under investigation; the date of the photo and the name of the photographer remain uncertain.

Counties with Observations (boldfaced):

To see a map (Figure 1) displaying the data in the table above, click on the bold-faced word in this sentence.

Literature Cited