They return to the same nesting site for years. Their favorite nesting place is a small island in a lake that is undisturbed by humans and other wildlife, though they will nest with gulls. The oldest colony of White Pelicans in Alberta was documented in 1789. It is on an island in Mountain Rapids in the Slave Lake. It is the most northerly pelican colony in the world and the only colony in Alberta that is found on a river.
Colonies range from a few birds to several hundred.
It often contains juveniles and adults that do not breed. Some Alberta pelicans gather in groups and fly as far as fifty miles to a preferred feeding ground. White Pelicans leave Alberta in late September and migrate to the Florida and the Gulf of Mexico for the winter. White Pelican colonies are found in the boreal forests, aspen parklands and prairie lakes of Alberta. If one area becomes unsuitable, they will abandon it for a more favorable site.