Pelicans basking on rocks jutting from the churning seas and soaring over the salty waves is a vision created millions of years ago. In fact, these prehistoric-looking seabirds have changed very little in the last 30-40 million years. In the 1960’s and 1970’s due to the use of pollutants such as DDT, the Brown Pelican nearly disappeared from North America. After declaring the pelican endangered in 1970, strict pesticide regulations made it possible for the pelicans to make a full comeback. Brown pelicans live year-round in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the southeastern coast. Others migrate to spend winters in central California and summers on the Northwest and mid-Atlantic coasts. Cannon Beach on the Oregon coast becomes home to many pelicans every year, where the seas are teaming with anchovies, herring, shad, and other baitfish. "Pelicans at Cannon Beach,” Is a hand-painted digital image and photo composite created in Spadecaller’s Florida Studio on 7/1/2023.