Where can you see the American White Pelican?
Some of the best places to see the American White Pelican in the wild include Montes Azules (Mexico), Crater Lake National Park (United States) and Lassen Volcanic National Park (United States) — among 87 wildlife hotspots across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica. Every hotspot below shows real sighting data and the best seasons to visit.
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge
Dare County, United States
+288 birds+17 mammals
Where the coastal plain of North Carolina meets the Albemarle Peninsula, a sprawling mosaic of freshwater marshes, pocosins, and swamp forest creates one of the Atlantic…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYArches National Park
Grand County, United States
+185 birds+20 mammals
Where rust-red sandstone fins rise abruptly from high desert scrubland, Arches National Park spans 548 square kilometers of one of North America's most sculptural landscapes. The…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKBadlands National Park
Wall, United States
+200 birds+14 mammals
Eroded badlands rise in jagged formations across northwestern South Dakota, where the White River has carved deep canyons through layers of sedimentary rock spanning millions of…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKBanff National Park
Improvement District No. 9, Canada
+264 birds+33 mammals
Where the Canadian Rockies thrust skyward in a cathedral of limestone and ice, Banff National Park preserves a wilderness of astounding vertical drama. Glacier-carved valleys cradle…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKBarra del Colorado National Wildlife Refuge
Tortuguero, Costa Rica
+462 birds+36 mammals
Where the Caribbean's restless waters meet the Limón Province coastline, Barra del Colorado National Wildlife Sanctuary unfolds across a landscape of extraordinary ecological complexity. This equatorial…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYBear River Migratory Bird Refuge
Box Elder County, United States
+254 birds+9 mammals
Where the Bear River winds through the semi-arid basin country of northwestern Utah, a sprawling wildlife sanctuary transforms the high desert into a haven for migratory…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYBic National Park
Rimouski, Canada
+250 birds+9 mammals
Where the St. Lawrence River meets the Gaspé Peninsula, a rugged coastline of forests, wetlands, and rocky shores unfolds across nearly 95 square kilometres of protected…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKBig Bend National Park
Brewster County, United States
+345 birds+34 mammals
Where the Chisos Mountains rise abruptly from the Sonoran Desert floor, Big Bend National Park spans over 7,300 square kilometers of one of North America's most…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKBiscayne National Park
Miami-Dade County, United States
+263 birds+7 mammals
Coral reefs and mangrove shallows dominate this marine sanctuary where the Florida Keys meet the Atlantic, creating a mosaic of shallow seagrass meadows, patch reefs, and…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKBitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Chaves County, United States
+284 birds+10 mammals
Across the high desert floor of southeastern New Mexico, where elevation and aridity shape every living thing, shallow alkaline lakes and marshes form an unexpected oasis…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYBlackwater National Wildlife Refuge
Fishing Creek, United States
+293 birds+15 mammals
Tidal marshes and brackish waterways define this wildlife sanctuary where the Chesapeake Bay's influence reshapes the landscape with every rise and fall of the water. Shallow…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYBombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge
Kent County, United States
+323 birds+15 mammals
Tidal marshes and brackish shallows define this sanctuary on Delaware's Atlantic coast, where the meeting of freshwater and salt creates some of the Mid-Atlantic's most dynamic…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYBosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
Socorro County, United States
+345 birds+17 mammals
Where the Rio Grande emerges from its desert canyon in central New Mexico, a narrow ribbon of riparian woodland defies the arid landscape that surrounds it.…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYBryce Canyon National Park
Tropic, United States
+202 birds+20 mammals
Hoodoos rise like a forest of stone pillars from an amphitheater carved into Utah's high plateau, where the Paunsaugunt elevates the landscape to over 9,000 feet…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKCabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge
United States
+155 birds+6 mammals
Across southwestern Arizona's harshest terrain, where the Colorado River marks the border with Mexico, lies a sanctuary shaped entirely by heat and aridity. Cabeza Prieta National…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYCaño Negro National Wildlife Refuge
Caño Negro District, Costa Rica
+486 birds+16 mammals
Where the San Juan River's seasonal floodplain opens into expansive wetlands, Caño Negro Wildlife Sanctuary sprawls across one of Central America's most productive freshwater ecosystems. This…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYCanyonlands National Park
Wayne County, United States
+186 birds+15 mammals
Where the Colorado River has carved an intricate labyrinth through the high desert plateau of southeastern Utah, Canyonlands National Park sprawls across nearly 3,030 square kilometres…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKCarlsbad Caverns National Park
Eddy County, United States
+309 birds+18 mammals
Beneath the Chihuahuan Desert floor of southern New Mexico lies one of North America's most spectacular subterranean landscapes. Carlsbad Caverns National Park encompasses over 518 square…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKCedar Keys National Wildlife Refuge
Levy County, United States
+268 birds+8 mammals
Where the Florida Gulf Coast transitions from mainland to archipelago, Cedar Keys National Wildlife Sanctuary protects a mosaic of salt marshes, shallow estuaries, and maritime hammocks…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYChannel Islands National Park
Santa Barbara County, United States
+330 birds+15 mammals
A chain of eight volcanic islands rises from the cold Pacific waters off the California coast, their rugged sea cliffs and windswept terrain shaped by millions…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKChassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge
Homosassa, United States
+299 birds+14 mammals
Where the Gulf of Mexico's coastal marshes dissolve into brackish tidal flats and mangrove thickets, the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Sanctuary near Homosassa represents one of Florida's…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYChincoteague National Wildlife Refuge
Chincoteague, United States
+362 birds+16 mammals
Across the barrier islands and salt marshes of Virginia's Eastern Shore, where Atlantic tides sculpt an intricate mosaic of sandy spits and tidal flats, lies one…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYCongaree National Park
Richland County, United States
+205 birds+12 mammals
Where the Congaree River winds through the lowlands of South Carolina, an old-growth bottomland forest of extraordinary character rises from a landscape shaped by seasonal floods…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKCrater Lake National Park
Klamath County, United States
+174 birds+13 mammals
At 1,949 metres above sea level, a volcanic caldera of impossible clarity holds one of North America's deepest and most pristine alpine lakes, ringed by pumice-and-ash…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKDeath Valley National Park
Inyo County, United States
+339 birds+25 mammals
Across nearly 3.5 million acres of southeastern California's Inyo County, vast salt flats meet sculpted badlands and alluvial fans in a landscape so extreme it defines…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKDon Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Fremont, United States
+286 birds+20 mammals
Where the San Francisco Bay's shallow margins dissolve into tidal salt marshes and mudflats, this wildlife sanctuary preserves one of California's most ecologically vital estuarine systems.…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYDry Tortugas National Park
Monroe County, United States
+211 birds+1 mammals
Seventy miles west of Key West, where the Gulf of Mexico surrenders to the Atlantic, lies a constellation of low coral keys that rise barely above…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKEl Vizcaíno
Laguna San Ignacio, Mexico
+317 birds+29 mammals
Where the Baja California peninsula thins into a tapestry of salt lagoons and coastal desert, one of Mexico's most biodiverse reserves sprawls across half a million…
VIEW BIOSPHERE RESERVEEverglades National Park
Monroe County, United States
+345 birds+22 mammals
Where freshwater marsh meets subtropical sky, the Everglades sprawls across southwestern Florida as one of North America's most expansive wetland ecosystems. Spanning over 13,000 square kilometers,…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKGlacier National Park
Glacier, Canada
+162 birds+12 mammals
Where granite peaks pierce the clouds above the Columbia River valley, Glacier National Park protects one of the most dramatic mountain wilderness areas in western Canada.…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKGlacier National Park
United States
+246 birds+39 mammals
Where jagged peaks pierce a subarctic sky and glacial valleys carve through ancient rock, Glacier National Park spans the spine of the Northern Rockies along Montana's…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKGrand Canyon National Park
United States
+277 birds+35 mammals
A mile-deep chasm of rust-red rock and purple shadow cuts through the high desert plateau of northern Arizona, revealing nearly two billion years of geological history…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKGrand Teton National Park
Teton County, United States
+247 birds+38 mammals
Where the Teton Range tears skyward in a dramatic escarpment above the Snake River valley, nearly 2,550 square kilometers of montane wilderness unfolds across Teton County,…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKGreat Basin National Park
White Pine County, United States
+170 birds+19 mammals
Where the Great Basin's high desert plateaus rise above 10,000 feet, ancient bristlecone pines endure on moonscape ridges of limestone and quartzite, creating one of North…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKGreat Sand Dunes National Park
Saguache County, United States
+193 birds+14 mammals
Where the Colorado high plains collide with one of North America's most extraordinary geological anomalies, nearly 600 square kilometres of windswept sand rise abruptly from the…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKGreat White Heron National Wildlife Refuge
Monroe County, United States
+118 birds+3 mammals
Shallow mangrove bays and salt-marsh flats sprawl across Monroe County's coastal sanctuary, where brackish water meets the Florida Keys' distinctive transition zone between temperate and subtropical…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYGulf Islands National Park Reserve
Southern Gulf Islands Electoral Area, Canada
+268 birds+26 mammals
Scattered across the Salish Sea in British Columbia's southwestern corner, this national park reserve stitches together a fragmented archipelago of forested islands and rocky outcrops where…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKHavasu National Wildlife Refuge
Lake Havasu City, United States
+291 birds+8 mammals
Where the Colorado River widens into a vast reservoir in the Sonoran Desert, Havasu National Wildlife Sanctuary protects one of the most critical wetland ecosystems in…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYÎles-De-Boucherville National Park
Boucherville, Canada
+243 birds+8 mammals
Where the Saint Lawrence River braids into a labyrinth of islands and channels, Îles-de-Boucherville National Park sprawls across approximately 18 square kilometres of riverine wilderness just…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKImperial National Wildlife Refuge
La Paz County, United States
+222 birds+4 mammals
Where the Colorado River carves through the Sonoran Desert in southwestern Arizona, Imperial National Wildlife Sanctuary unfolds across a landscape shaped by water and aridity. The…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYIndiana Dunes National Park
Porter, United States
+304 birds+15 mammals
Along the southern shore of Lake Michigan, where glacial geology meets temperate woodland and open water, sprawls a landscape of extraordinary ecological complexity. The dunes themselves—massive…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKIsle Royale National Park
Keweenaw County, United States
+197 birds+9 mammals
Across Lake Superior's cold waters lies an island wilderness where boreal forest meets rocky shoreline, a place where the climate refuses to yield easy comfort. Isle…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKJ.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge
Sanibel, United States
+277 birds+6 mammals
Mangrove channels and coastal marshlands dominate this 6,400-acre sanctuary on Florida's Gulf coast, where brackish waterways weave between dense stands of red, black, and white mangrove…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYJasper National Park
Improvement District No. 12, Canada
+235 birds+34 mammals
Where the Canadian Rockies rise in dramatic succession across western Alberta, Jasper National Park spans over 11,000 square kilometres of subalpine and alpine terrain, glaciated valleys,…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKJoshua Tree National Park
Riverside County, United States
+221 birds+23 mammals
Across 5,610 square kilometers of Riverside County's high desert, a landscape of geological drama unfolds where granite monoliths pierce through bajadas of creosote scrub and Joshua…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKKings Canyon National Park
Fresno County, United States
+186 birds+20 mammals
Where granite peaks fracture the Sierra Nevada skyline and the Kings River has carved one of North America's most dramatic canyons, a landscape of extreme relief…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKKlamath Marsh National Wildlife Refuge
Klamath County, United States
+219 birds+7 mammals
Where the volcanic plateau of south-central Oregon slopes into a broad, shallow basin lies one of the Pacific Northwest's most underappreciated wetland sanctuaries. Klamath Marsh National…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYLaguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge
Cameron County, United States
+365 birds+19 mammals
Where coastal prairie meets shallow lagoon along the southernmost tip of Texas, Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Sanctuary sprawls across a landscape sculpted by salt spray and…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYLagunas de Montebello National Park
Laguna de Montebello, Mexico
+360 birds+2 mammals
Where turquoise lagoons pierce the limestone plateau of southeastern Chiapas, the Lagunas de Montebello National Park unfolds across roughly 174 square kilometers of spectral water and…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKLassen Volcanic National Park
Shasta County, United States
+239 birds+18 mammals
Volcanic peaks and geothermal upheaval have sculpted 545 square kilometers of Northern California into a landscape where fire and water engage in perpetual dialogue. Lassen Peak…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKLower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge
Starbase, United States
+311 birds+11 mammals
Where the Rio Grande delta spreads across the coastal plain of South Texas, a sanctuary of subtropical wetlands and riparian corridors creates a landscape that pulses…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYMalheur National Wildlife Refuge
Harney County, United States
+309 birds+24 mammals
Across the high desert plateau of southeastern Oregon, where sagebrush scrubland stretches toward distant ridgelines under an enormous sky, lies a sanctuary shaped by water in…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYMerritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
Brevard County, United States
+341 birds+19 mammals
Brackish marshes and palmetto scrub define this wildlife sanctuary spanning the coastal lowlands of central Florida, where the Atlantic tide meets freshwater systems in a dynamic…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYMesa Verde National Park
Montezuma County, United States
+166 birds+10 mammals
Across the high desert plateau of southwestern Colorado, where sandstone mesas rise abruptly from piñon-juniper scrubland, Mesa Verde National Park preserves one of North America's most…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKMontes Azules
Candelaria, Mexico
+395 birds+47 mammals
Where jungle-clad limestone plateaus plunge into canyon systems carved by the Usumacinta River, Mexico's most pristine rainforest reserve unfolds across the Lacandón region of Chiapas. Montes…
VIEW BIOSPHERE RESERVENational Elk Refuge
Jackson, United States
+230 birds+27 mammals
Where the sagebrush flats of northwestern Wyoming rise toward the Gros Ventre Mountains, winter transforms the landscape into a realm of survival and spectacle. The National…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYOkefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
Charlton County, United States
+206 birds+14 mammals
Vast wetlands of cypress and blackwater creeks define this wildlife sanctuary straddling the Georgia–Florida border, where the landscape shifts between open marsh, dense swamp forest, and…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYOlympic National Park
Jefferson County, United States
+263 birds+35 mammals
Where temperate rainforest meets alpine wilderness, Olympic National Park sprawls across nearly 11,000 square kilometers of the Pacific Northwest's most pristine landscape. The park's three distinct…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKParque Nacional Arrecife Alacranes
Chicxulub, Mexico
+93 birds
Coral formations rise from turquoise shallows off the Yucatán Peninsula, their limestone skeletons built over millennia into a living archipelago where the Caribbean meets the Gulf…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKParque Nacional Cerro de la Estrella
Mexico
+126 birds+4 mammals
Where volcanic peaks rise sharply above Mexico City's sprawling metropolis, Parque Nacional Cerro de la Estrella offers a rare glimpse of high-altitude terrain within one of…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKPea Island National Wildlife Refuge
Dare County, United States
+356 birds+15 mammals
Where the Outer Banks taper toward the Atlantic, a sliver of barrier island creates a microcosm of coastal ecology. Pea Island National Wildlife Sanctuary spans over…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYPelican Island National Wildlife Refuge
Windsor, United States
+265 birds+4 mammals
Where Florida's Indian River widens into a brackish estuary, a small island sanctuary commands the attention of waterbirds across the Atlantic Flyway. Pelican Island National Wildlife…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYPinnacles National Park
San Benito County, United States
+197 birds+33 mammals
Jagged volcanic spires thrust from chaparral-covered ridges across 222 square kilometers of central California's inner Coast Ranges, their pale stone crowns catching the afternoon light like…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKPoint Pelee National Park
Leamington, Canada
+296 birds+14 mammals
Where Lake Erie's shallow waters meet the Ontario shoreline, a slender sandy peninsula juts into the Great Lakes like a natural funnel for migrating wildlife. This…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKRed Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge
Beaverhead County, United States
+216 birds+10 mammals
Where the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem's northern reaches meet the high plateaus of southwestern Montana, a network of glacial lakes and wetlands sustains one of the continent's…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYRedwood National Park
Humboldt County, United States
+343 birds+43 mammals
Where the Pacific fog rolls deep into northern California's coastal valleys, some of the tallest trees on Earth rise from a landscape shaped by tectonic forces…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKRocky Mountain National Park
Larimer County, United States
+259 birds+33 mammals
Where granite peaks rise above 12,000 feet and alpine tundra gives way to subalpine forest, Rocky Mountain National Park spans the Continental Divide across nearly 1,600…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKSacramento National Wildlife Refuge
Glenn County, United States
+247 birds+13 mammals
Across the flat expanse of Glenn County's Sacramento Valley, shallow pools and seasonal marshes create one of California's most vital wetland sanctuaries—a landscape shaped by water…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYSaguaro National Park
Rincon Valley, United States
+354 birds+40 mammals
Where the Sonoran Desert meets sky-island mountains, two geographically separated districts of Saguaro National Park sprawl across nearly two thousand square kilometers of Arizona's most iconic…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKSalton Sea National Wildlife Refuge
Imperial County, United States
+289 birds+4 mammals
Across the floor of California's inland desert, where summer temperatures soar and rainfall is measured in tenths of inches, lies an improbable oasis of shallow water…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYSan Luis National Wildlife Refuge
Merced County, United States
+219 birds+14 mammals
Across the floor of California's San Joaquin Valley, where semi-arid grasslands meet shallow seasonal wetlands, San Luis National Wildlife Sanctuary preserves a critical mosaic of habitats…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYSanta Ana National Wildlife Refuge
Hidalgo County, United States
+349 birds+12 mammals
Where the Rio Grande delta meets the semi-arid scrublands of South Texas, Santa Ana National Wildlife Sanctuary preserves a rare mosaic of wetland and thornforest habitat…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYSeedskadee National Wildlife Refuge
Sweetwater County, United States
+209 birds+8 mammals
Where the Green River carves through the high-desert basin of southwestern Wyoming, Seedskadee National Wildlife Sanctuary preserves one of the West's most vital riparian corridors. The…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYSian Ka’an
Chunyaxché, Mexico
+350 birds+16 mammals
Where the Yucatán Peninsula dissolves into wetland and mangrove, a vast mosaic of forest, lagoon, and coastal margin creates one of Mexico's most biodiverse strongholds. Across…
VIEW BIOSPHERE RESERVESierra del Lacandón National Park
Petén, Guatemala
+348 birds+7 mammals
Where the Petén rainforest rises into limestone ridges and deep ravines, Sierra del Lacandón National Park protects one of Central America's most intact tropical wilderness zones.…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKSt. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
Saint Marks, United States
+324 birds+16 mammals
Where the Apalachee Bay begins to define the Florida coastline, salt marshes and freshwater impoundments merge into one of the southeastern United States' most productive wildlife…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYTheodore Roosevelt National Park
Billings County, United States
+23 birds
Across the rolling badlands of northwestern North Dakota, where the Little Missouri River carves through layered sedimentary cliffs and stark buttes rise abruptly from prairie grassland,…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKTikal National Park
Tikal, Guatemala
+399 birds+16 mammals
Dense rainforest canopy rises above the limestone plateau of Petén, where archaeological wonder and ecological richness merge seamlessly across one of Central America's most biodiverse landscapes.…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKTule Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Siskiyou County, United States
+255 birds+9 mammals
Across the high volcanic plateau of northeastern California, where summer heat scorches the alkali flats and winter winds sweep unobstructed through open water and marsh, Tule…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYUpper Klamath National Wildlife Refuge
Klamath County, United States
+217 birds
Where shallow marshes and open water meet the high desert of south-central Oregon, the Upper Klamath National Wildlife Sanctuary creates a landscape of startling contrasts. Fed…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYVoyageurs National Park
Northwest Saint Louis, United States
+198 birds+13 mammals
Where the boreal forest meets the glacially sculpted lakes of northwestern Minnesota, Voyageurs National Park sprawls across nearly two thousand square kilometres of a landscape shaped…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKWaterton Lakes National Park
Improvement District No. 04, Canada
+252 birds+31 mammals
Where the Continental Divide plunges toward the prairies of Alberta, glacier-carved valleys and emerald lakes pierce a landscape where montane forest meets alpine tundra. Waterton Lakes…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKWheeler National Wildlife Refuge
Triana, United States
+268 birds+10 mammals
Shallow impoundments and meandering channels spread across northern Alabama's humid subtropical landscape, where Wheeler National Wildlife Sanctuary anchors a critical junction of wetland and woodland habitat.…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYWichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge
Medicine Park, United States
+256 birds+17 mammals
Granite peaks rise abruptly from rolling prairie in southwestern Oklahoma, where the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge protects a rare collision of ecosystems. This sanctuary encompasses…
VIEW WILDLIFE SANCTUARYWood Buffalo National Park
Improvement District No. 24, Canada
+187 birds+10 mammals
Across nearly 75,000 square kilometres of boreal forest, wetland and grassland in northern Alberta, the landscape unfolds in a mosaic of spruce and pine woodland interspersed…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKYellowstone National Park
Park County, United States
+253 birds+43 mammals
Across nearly 11,400 square kilometres of the Rocky Mountain plateau, geothermal fury and pristine wilderness converge in one of Earth's most dynamic landscapes. Hot springs, geysers…
VIEW NATIONAL PARKZion National Park
Washington County, United States
+244 birds+30 mammals
Towering sandstone cliffs in shades of crimson, rust, and cream rise abruptly from the Virgin River's winding canyon floor, their sculpted faces bearing witness to millions…
VIEW NATIONAL PARK