Pelican Feeding at Memorial Park

Every day at 3:30pm, a crowd gathers at Memorial Park on the waterfront at The Entrance — and a squadron of pelicans gathers with them. Volunteers from the local Pelican Feeding Society bring in buckets of fish, and the birds waddle in from the lake with the confidence of regulars who know the routine. It is one of the more endearing wildlife encounters you will find anywhere on the New South Wales coast, and it costs nothing.

Australian pelicans are the largest in the world, with wingspans reaching two and a half metres. Up close they are impressively ungainly on land and almost impossibly graceful in the air. The feeding draws a mix of locals and visitors, and the whole event takes about twenty minutes. Arrive early for a good spot on the foreshore.

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A story
The pelican feeding at The Entrance started informally in the 1970s when a local named Ray Moran began bringing fish scraps down to the waterfront. What began as a habit for one man became a daily community event drawing crowds of fifty or more birds. The pelicans now arrive on their own schedule, waddling up from the water well before the 3:30pm call.

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