1. Pelicans

3. Pelicans are large birds and belong to a group of birds called waterbirds. They can be found on coastal and inland waterways. There are more that six different types of pelicans. The Australian pelican is the type of pelican we will be focusing on. Here is a picture of an Australian pelican.

4. The Australian Pelican is the largest of all of the pelicans. Pelicans are social birds and spend their time in groups. They work together to herd and catch fish. Groups of pelicans are called pods, squadrons or scoops.

5. The best-known feature of pelicans is their very long bill and famously massive throat pouch. The bill is 40 - 50 cm long and is larger in males than females. Australian Pelicans have the longest beaks of any bird in the world. The large, stretchy pouch is where the pelican can catch fish and other things to eat. Pelican parents catch food in their pouch to share with their babies.

6. Pelicans don’t store fish in their bills for very long – they use them more to collect the fish and they swallow them nearly straight away. They can hold up to 13 litres of water in their bills. The long hook on the end of the pelican’s beak helps it to hang on to slippery food. Pelicans plunge their bills into the water, using their flexible pouch as a net.

7. Pelicans eat a variety of different foods, such as: Fish Crustaceans Turtles Shrimp Tadpoles Frogs

8. Pelicans have large wings and a wingspan of 2 – 2.5 metres wide. Pelicans have very light skeletons which helps them to fly long distances. They can cover hundreds of kilometres within a 24 hour period.

9. Pelicans move around a lot and will travel long distances in search of suitable waterways and a good food supply. Pelicans can live in very large groups of around 40 000 birds. Pelicans often breed in these large colonies. Baby pelicans spend around 28 days in their nest. The chicks then form their own little groups of about 100 pelicans called a crèche.

10. Salt Flats

11. Salt flats are an amazing part of Australia’s landscape. The salt flats in Australia are mainly in the barren desert areas in the centre of Australia. Most of the time the salt flats (also sometimes known as salt pans) are dry.

12. Sometimes the salt flats fill up from rain and thunderstorms. Some of the salt flats in Australia have only been full twice in 150 years! On the rare occasion these salt flats or inland lakes become full, it is because of massive flooding in Queensland that travels over land and fills the lake.

13. There are different stories about how salt flats came to be but one of these ideas is that these basins were formed by the ocean which is why the salt level is so high. As the sun dries out the water and it evaporates, the salt is left behind. The most significant salt flat in Australia is named ‘Lake Eyre’.

14. Lake Eyre The Ghost Lake

15. Lake Eyre is in South Australia. It is about 700 km North of Adelaide – the capital city of South Australia.

16. Lake Eyre is an incredible feature of the Australian landscape. Lake Eyre and its catchment are part of an ancient inland sea one sixth the size of the Australian continent.

17. Lake Eyre was named in honour of the first European who saw it – his name was John Eyre. In 2012, Lake Eyre was renamed to include its Indigneous name – Kati-thandra. It is now know as Kati-thandra – Lake Eyre. Kati-thandra - Lake Eyre is on the land of the Arabunna people.

18. There is an Aboriginal story about how Lake Eyre came to be. It is a story that has been passed down through many generations. The story tells of a kangaroo that became frightened when he was chased by a boy called Wilkuda. The kangaroo took off as fast as it could, but eventually Wilkuda caught up and killed the kangaroo with a spear that he had found on the sand. Wilkuda, tired from the chase decided to have a rest before he cooked the kangaroo. When he woke up some time later, he noticed that the kangaroo he had caught was gone. He followed the tracks until he saw on old man cooking the kangaroo in the distance.

19. When Wilkuda was chasing the kangaroo, spirits told him that the animal had a magic skin and would create a lake when it was placed on the sand. He hurried towards the old man and told him that he could have the meat, but he must hand back the skin. The old man gave the skin back to him and he hurried back towards the east with the skin in his grass bag. Wilkuda was joined by a strange bird that flew close to him. The little bird told Wilkuda that he was not to throw the skin over important human tracks and finally gave him permission to spread the skin over a flat, dry stretch of desert.

20. The skin grew larger and larger while water flowed rapidly into it from some magic source. This is now Kati-thandra (Lake Eyre). The Arabunna people believe that Wilkuda was turned into stone on the banks of the lake he made for them. They say he still remains there today and the rock resembles the boy with his grass bag containing the skin and his stone spear. Quite close to him is another rock formation resembling the kangaroo.