Frigid survival: how American white pelicans overwinter in the cold

They’re like a flurry of snow in the Montana summer. American white pelicans breed among the prairies, deserts, and forests of the western North American interior, from California and Colorado to Alberta and Manitoba. Across this diverse geographical expanse, they nest in dense colonies, choosing islands within certain marshes or lakes that provide some protection from predators. The nests, often spaced just a few feet apart, can number a thousand or more in a colony. 

None of this is out of the ordinary. It’s just the wonderful, striking yearly rhythm of our American white pelicans, these flamboyant fishers of inland marsh and ocean coast. But what is out of the ordinary is to find a pelican – this social bird of the Montana summer – somehow surviving an inland winter among the ice.