Did a google search on white pelicans minnesota wisconsin diet, and found this info:
White pelicans, unlike brown pelicans, don’t dive from the air to catch fish, and thus are not likely to catch deep-water fish.
White pelicans prefer to fish in a line, side by side, herding their prey toward shallow water where they surround it and scoop it up in their pouches. The bulk of their diet consists of rough fish, such as carp, bullheads, and suckers, as well as sunfish and a surprising number of salamanders and crayfish. During my visit to Big Island, I found numerous regurgitated carp near the nests, some more than a foot long. Despite misunderstanding about pelicans’ fishing habits, people tolerate pelicans better than they do cormorants, which also feed primarily on rough fish. ‘
American white pelicans require shallow water for foraging. Most feeding occurs between water depths of 0.3-2.5 m (1-8.3 ft) (Anderson 1991). Feeding mostly takes place along lake or river edges, in open areas within marshes, on or below rapids, and occasionally in deep waters of lakes and rivers (Evans and Knopf 1993). American white pelicans feed largely on nongame or “rough” fish, amphibians, and crustaceans (Brittell et al 1976, Lingle and Sloan 1980). Hall (1925) reported that adult pelicans consume 1.8 kg (4.8 lbs) of food per day. Therefore, an abundant prey base predominantly consisting of warm water fish is essential for American white pelican survival (Smith et al. 1984)
A pelican’s diet is chiefly fish, and fortunately rough fish are the major part (finally, something that relishes carp!).
