Brown pelicans who lingered in Oregon through the winter released into the wild

[depakid]

A brown pelican regains freedom after months in rehab at the Wildlife Center of the North Coast near Astoria. Nearly a dozen were released this month and about 20 more will be freed in the weeks ahead. They washed up on Oregon beaches in January and February at a time when they should have been in California and Mexico.
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Nearly a dozen brown pelicans that bewildered scientists by lingering this winter on the Oregon coast instead of flying south have been returned to the wild.

They were released earlier this month by the Wildlife Center of the North Coast after being fattened up and made fit for foraging on their own. "It's nice to see them go out again in good health and fully conditioned," said Sharnelle Fee, director of the wildlife center near Astoria.

Nearly 20 more are still at the center awaiting release in the weeks ahead.

The pelicans were found washed up in January and February on Oregon beaches from Newport to Astoria at a time when they should have been basking in the sun with their mates in California and Mexico. Instead, they stuck around, marking a break with traditional behavior that puzzled marine biologists. Some suspect it could be a sign of climate change, though no one knows for sure.

Many of the dawdlers ended up in dire shape. "Our storms and diminishing food supply started to catch up with them," Fee said. "They were bruised and battered and not waterproofed from being bumped in the surf."

Several dozen were brought to her center for rehabilitation. They were fed herring and capelin, replenished with vitamins made for seabirds and treated for parasites that are common on wild birds. Once they gained strength and weight, they were put in Fee's newly built pelican flight cage to exercise their wings and splash about in pools.

Not all of them made it that far, however. A few that arrived at the center with severe fractures had to be euthanized, and a handful died within 24 hours. "They're pretty hardy birds," Fee said. "If there's anything left in them, there's a good chance they'll make it. If they die overnight, they were on their way out anyway."

Fee and volunteers from the center released the pelicans May 16 on the beach north of Fort Columbia State Park in Washington. The site faces East Sand Island, which draws Caspian terns, pelicans and other seabirds in the summer.

Fee says the brown pelicans probably will stick together as a group for a while and then join other pelicans that have begun to return from California and Mexico. Pelicans form close relationships with the same or opposite sex, she said. "When they've been with us over winter, they tend to pair up," she said. "It's not just boys with girls, either. They form friendships."

More: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/05/brown_pelicans_who_lingered_in.html

[aquart]

1. Beautiful healthy pelicans.

I'm going to cry now.