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Saturday, January 30, 2010

Pelipalooza!

The series of storms that hit California have been hard on the pelicans. This is my understanding of what is happening. Pelicans feed near rivermouths, and harbors due to the nutrients in the water that attract fish. The rains wash street oils and other pollutants down the streams to where the pelicans feed. Once their feathers get contaminated, the birds lose their waterproofing, and get cold, weak, and sick. At this point they are down, can't fly, and can't get food. Each pelican needs to be washed and rinsed at least once (about 30 minutes), and then dried in enclosures with big blow dryers. Of all the pelicans you see in these pictures below, only one, R52, is able to fly to the high perch - one of the criteria for release.

Anyway, IBRRC in Cordelia has received over 60 pelicans in the past week, with another 30 being sent up from Santa Barbara in the next day or two. The San Pedro facility has well over 100 pelicans. Many of the pelicans have seal bites, also. The 60 plus pelicans where I volunteer in Cordelia eat about 300 pounds of fish a day! Below are a few pictures of the pelican madness.




We have one American White Pelican - a beautiful and large bird with a deep hole in his wing. He seems to be doing well, though.


Kramer has been a fixture at IBRRC for years. Rather than go hunt like a normal Snowy Egret, he spends his life waiting to raid the food cart. He pulls off sheets placed over the buckets, and is very crafty. He is an ex-patient who just doesn't want to make it on the outs.

Feeding time! Six buckets of fish for the evening meal.


2 comments:

Andria said...

Wow -- that is a lot of pelicans. The video was kind of like "the Birds" -- you were surrounded! They seem rather quiet and well-mannered, though -- or were they just on their best behavior because the cameras were rolling?

I am glad to finally know Kramer's name. It must be kind of fun to have him as a fixture at IBRRC. Do you see him everey Saturday?

Bob said...

Yes, I see Kramer every Saturday - he is a very patient bird. The pelicans looked kind of quiet because they are all sick to some degree. They also quickly learn how to figure out human intentions. If you are holding a net and fix your eyes on an individual, he freaks, even though he is in a crowd. Sometimes if you look at a pelican wrong, they will throw up the fish they just ate!