Pelicans, Pelicans, Pelicans

The wildlife center at which I volunteer has been playing host to some interesting new denizens these last couple of days: A flock of American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) was discovered sitting atop the ice on (no, I’m not kidding) “Pelican Lake” near Rogers, Minnesota. The flock is made up entirely of juveniles, some of which sport broken wing bones. All are weak and emaciated, and will be unable to complete their migration route from Canada to the gulf coast. As of Thursday evening good Samaritans Kent and Susan Brunell had captured and transported 9 of the birds to the WRC, but unfortunately three were already dead upon arrival. The surviving 6 birds were added to the one juvenile pelican already residing at the WRC, bringing the count to 7 of these endangered water birds. The last I heard was that there were still an estimated 7-12 pelicans on the lake, and rescue efforts are ongoing. I imagine that the rescuers must be seriously hampered by the unsafe ice conditions that the recent warm weather has brought about.

Time is running out for those birds still on the lake because once the ice formed they were cut off from their food supply, and began to starve. Two pelicans were already dead by the time the rescue effort began in earnest. Rescuing an entire flock of pelicans is an enormous undertaking and I have a great deal of respect for the couple who have voluntarily taken responsibility for this task. Pelicans are VERY large water birds, folks, with an 8-foot adult wingspan and sharp hooks at the ends of their long, intimidating beaks. The weakened condition and young age of this flock are therefore helpful toward their capture. I spent some time cleaning their enclosure last Thursday night and found them rather sweet. They pathetically huddle together for comfort and generally try to avoid contact with humans, but will loudly clack their beaks at you if you approach too close for their liking. Some are unable to walk, instead crawling about on their "knees". It made me feel slightly guilty to keep moving around their enclosure, because it was painful to watch them scurry away from me in this manner. The entire building smells vaguely of fish, and I’ve been told to get used to it as it’s likely to stay that way while the pelicans remain in our care. 

It’s unknown at this time precisely why the pelican flock did not complete their migration, and instead remained in Minnesota long past the point when they should have departed for the gulf. It’s possible that some of the animals had wing fractures which limited their stamina for the long flight, or perhaps the leaders died and the inexperienced juveniles did not know what to do, so they simply stayed put. The 5 dead pelicans will be autopsied and tested for toxins, parasites and lead poisoning, which may eventually solve the mystery. 

This particular case will definitely tax the non-profit WRC’s financial resources. The birds are likely to remain at the WRC for at least a month, and pelicans eat 1-3 pounds of fresh fish daily. The WRC estimates that the flock’s daily care will run several hundred dollars per day, and is therefore working hard to find a fish supplier willing to donate or provide fish at a reduced cost. Apparently Coastal Seafoods had offered to provide some free fish but did not have the right kind, so instead will make a monetary donation. The center is also soliciting individual donations to help fund the cost of the birds’ care.  In addition, once the surviving members of the flock are healthy enough to make the journey to the coast, believe it or not the WRC will have to fly the birds down to Florida or Texas on an airplane! We’ve had some success in the past with soliciting free cargo space from airlines, so I’m hoping we can tap that resource again. The center has contacted the local media in the hopes of attracting help, and WCCO ran a news story yesterday about the plight of these pelicans. The video is posted on their web site, if you are interested: Pelican news story on WCCO.com.

 Additional photos (and a plea for donations) are available on the WRC web site (http://www.wrcmn.org/).