Tranquility – Water
American White Pelican, Harrison Reservoir IBA, Montana
alkyd oil & egg tempera on gessoed panel, 16 x16 inches, $2,500.00

I saw this beautiful single pelican gliding quietly through the water in September at this Important bird area in Mon- tana. It is a designated IBA because it is an important stopover for migrating waterfowl and other birds. We also had a flyover of several hundred pelicans that was quite a sight to see!. They did not land in this wetland/reservoir habitat but like hundreds of thousands of wetland birds during spring and fall migrations. they will stop over somewhere on their annual long migrations to rest, feed and fuel up for the next leg of their journey. There are many refuges throughout the country used by migrating birds and nesting birds during the summer season. They can be quiet and tranquil with a bird here and there and they can be explosively noisy when thousands of birds are either on the water or in the air. Ei- ther way, they are important habitats to conserve and preserve to help our birds survive.