WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Thousands of pelicans have been spotted in a wildlife area in central Kansas.

About 9,000 pelicans were spotted Tuesday at the Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area near Great Bend.

The birds are white with wingspans as large as 9-feet wide. Though they waddle clumsily on land, they’re graceful in the water and the air.

Robert Penner is the avian programs manager at the Nature Conservancy of Kansas. He says the pelicans begin returning to the state from their northern breeding grounds in July and August. Their numbers will increase as fall approaches.

Max Thompson is a retired Southwestern College biology professor and ornithologist. He says the birds tend to nest further north and that there’s no documentation of pelican nesting in the state.