American white pelican

An American white pelican is mostly white, with black flight feathers that stand out in the air and a bill with a stretchable pouch. It catches fish with that bill; the key idea for Great Salt Lake is that a lake can be a nesting place and not a feeding place for the same bird.

The saline lake has little fish for pelicans. Birds nesting on Gunnison Island commute roughly 60 to 100 miles round trip to freshwater wetlands on the east side of the lake and to Wasatch reservoirs for fish. The colony has been in trouble: low lake levels created land bridges that opened Gunnison to coyotes and other predators, and a 2023 aerial survey found the colony abandoned. In 2024 Audubon reported the pelicans back, with about 1,200 nests on Gunnison and 1,900 on Hat Island.

That makes the pelican a useful lesson in reading the lake: nesting islands, feeding water and trips between them are separate things. A pelican at a freshwater marsh is feeding, not necessarily nesting. Stay far from the islands and use a scope from public shorelines, and look for current colony counts from the state Division of Wildlife Resources because the 2024 figures will change.

Very large white bird, black flight feathers on the wing, long bill with a pouch.

Gunnison Island colony affected by low lake levels and predator access; counts change from year to year.

Use a scope from public shorelines and viewing areas; never approach nesting islands, and view feeding birds from established refuge or wetland access.