Animals on the move

Pelicans of the Eastern Shore, up close

Seven brown pelicans and one summer at the mouth of the Chesapeake.

Medium

Seven GPS tracks over a marsh drawn from elevation data

Length

39 s

Collection

Animals on the move

Posted

Nov 10, 2026

The story

All seven birds from one seaside colony, from the day they were tagged, May 17, 2023, through October. The map is 66 miles across: Virginia's Eastern Shore, the bay mouth and Virginia Beach.

They fan out from the colony across the mouth of the Chesapeake to feed, some as far as the western shore, and come back, over and over. The marsh, barrier islands and channels are drawn from elevation data as lit contours.

What you're seeing

• Each color is one bird.
• The lines are straight because the tags reported every hour or two, not continuously.

Data

• Lamb, Satgé and Jodice 2026, Movebank Data Repository (public domain)
• Terrain: NOAA NCEI elevation mosaic

Have an interesting day.