The pelicans have landed in Granby for the spring and were spotted on a pond near Silvercreek Lodge.

According to Colorado Birding Trail, which is a major tourism initiative to promote outdoor recreation and conserve Colorado’s natural resources, American white pelicans are large birds with long wings that can be up to nine feet long. Their wings have black tips, and they have orange and webbed feet.

Unlike the brown pelican that dives for fish, the white pelican uses their wide, flat bills and big orange pouches to scoop food from fresh and saltwater sources while they swim. The white pelican can strain about four pounds of fish, salamanders, frogs, and aquatic invertebrates every day, the Colorado Birding Trail website stated.

The pelicans are social and typically arrive at nesting sites from Salt Lake City to Alberta, Canada, in the spring, grouping their nests together in colonies. Both sexes display their bright orange bills during mating season that includes rituals of bowing and strutting.

During courtship the male develops a fibrous bump on the upper part of their beak.

Kristen Ramer, who submitted the photos, says that she has seen the pelicans return to Granby every year since she moved here in 2017.