Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Pelicans fall out of sky from Mexico to Ore.
By Pat Brennan
The Orange County Register
SANTA ANA, Calif. - Pelicans suffering from a mysterious malady are crashing into cars and boats, wandering along roadways and turning up dead by the hundreds across the West Coast, from southern Oregon to Baja California, Mexico, bird-rescue workers say.
Weak, disoriented birds are huddling in people's yards or being struck by cars. More than 100 have been rescued along the California coast, according to the International Bird Rescue Research Center in San Pedro.
Hundreds of birds, disoriented or dead, have been observed across the West Coast.
"One pelican actually hit a car in Los Angeles," said Rebecca Dmytryk of Wildrescue, a bird-rescue operation. "One pelican hit a boat in Monterey."
While some of the symptoms resemble those associated with domoic-acid poisoning - an ocean toxin that sometimes affects sea birds and mammals - other symptoms do not. Domoic acid also apparently has not been found in significant amounts offshore, although more tests are needed.
Rescuers are wondering whether the illness is caused by a virus, or even by contaminants washed into the ocean after recent fires across Southern California. Many of the birds also have swollen feet.
"These birds are on the freeway, getting run over," said Jay Holcomb, executive director of the rescue center in San Pedro. "A bunch we've seen have been hit. They've been landing on yards five miles inland. When some of the people have captured them in parking lots, they just sit in the corner. They just go pick them up."
"Maybe the weather has been particularly difficult on them," said Heather Nevill, a veterinarian tracking the problem for the International Bird Rescue Research Center. "Maybe the fish stocks are particularly low. It might be more than one thing, all coming together at once."
Copyright © 2009 The Seattle Times Company
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I volunteer for the Peninsula Humane Society and they have reported unusually high numbers of pelicans coming into their Wildlife Center that are very sick and in need of critical care. This morning they were looking for PHS volunteers that could transport them to the International Bird Rescue and Research Center in Cordelia (near Fairfield) for more specialized care. As of now they have all been transported to the IBRRC and hopefully are on the road to recovery. If you find one in need of care the PHS recommends that you call a PHS officer to pick it up. They can be very aggressive and break the skin with their beaks so they don't recommend that you try to catch it on your own.
Posted by: Karen Ervin | January 09, 2009 at 07:01 PM
See a pelican in distress? Call 866-WILD-911, option#2
Posted by: Linty Marr | January 09, 2009 at 06:46 PM
Latest update here - lab results
http://intbirdrescue.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Linty Marr | January 09, 2009 at 06:46 PM
I was just emailing with Jeri Flinn and we both were saying that pelicans could be the new canaries.
Posted by: PACIFICA RIPTIDE | January 09, 2009 at 11:27 AM
A disoriented pelican was in the street behind my house about a week ago. Someone in a city truck watched it for a while. I didn't see what happened to it.
Yesterday, there was a pelican that I thought was acting strangely. It was in the water at the south end of Rockaway Beach, but within a few feet of the shore. It paddled around, and when I got too close it flew a short distance away.
Then I read the story in today's Chronicle. We were happy to see the pelicans return in numbers this year because it meant they were healthier. Now this. :( I wish we knew what was going on.
Posted by: Peter Loeb | January 09, 2009 at 11:25 AM
More about pelicans on the coast -- Moss Landing:
http://www.mercurynews.com/centralcoast/ci_11403209
Posted by: Summer Rhodes | January 09, 2009 at 11:16 AM
More about local pelicans
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/08/BAMA1564T4.DTL
Posted by: Summer Rhodes | January 09, 2009 at 10:50 AM