Two Seagulls fly above Santa Monica Pier on Wednesday, April 8, 2009.

A pelican tries to remove a fishing hook from his chest at the Santa Monica Pier. on Tuesday, January 13, 2009.  The pelicans have been fearlessly diving at fisherman's lines trying to eat their bait. Harbor Patrol said that if they can catch the birds with nets, they can remove the hooks. This has been a common occurrence.

A pelican takes a nosedive into the Pacific Ocean on Friday, January 2, 2009. Pelicans are a large, gregarious aquatic bird of warm regions, allied to the cormorants and gannets. They are heavy-bodied, long-necked birds with large, flat bills. Pelicans are graceful swimmers and fliers, often seen flying in long lines or circling at great heights. The pelicans are indeed famous for their beaks, which they fill with huge gulps of water, strain out the liquid, and eat the remaining fish or squid. The California brown pelicanis strictly an ocean bird.

"Oh, a wondrous bird is the pelican!
His bill holds more than his belican.
He can take in his beak
Enough food for a week.
But I'm darned if I know how the helican."
Dixon Lanier Merritt
(1879-1972)

Using his long beak, a Sandpiper digs for sand crabs along the Santa Monica shoreline at dusk on Monday, November 17, 2008. Sandpiper, common name for some members of the large family Scolopacidae, small shore birds that eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. Different lengths of bills enable different species to feed in the same habitat, particularly on the coast, without direct competition for food.

A Seagull stands on one leg at the Santa Monica Pier on July 18, 2008. Gulls (often informally Seagulls) are birds in the family Laridae. They are typically medium to large birds, usually grey or white, often with black markings on the head or wings. They typically have harsh wailing or squawking calls. They have stout, longish bills, and webbed feet. Most gulls, particularly Larus species, are ground nesting carnivores, which will take live food or scavenge opportunistically. The live food often includes crabs and small fish. Apart from the kittiwakes, gulls are typically coastal or inland species, rarely venturing far out to sea.at the Santa Monica Pier on July 18, 2008.