More than 500 brown pelicans have been found starving or dead in the past two weeks on the southern California coast for reasons yet to be determined, wildlife officials said.
A mix of juvenile and adult pelicans have found themselves sick, injured and too weak to fly, flooding wildlife rescue centers with calls.
Some of the first signs of a problem occurred in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Nearly 230 brown pelicans were found in just 10 days, according to the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Networkwhich rescues and rehabilitates seabirds found in both counties.
“They were definitely kind of the epicenter of it all in the beginning,” said Heather Perry, wildlife rehabilitation program coordinator for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
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More than 100 pelicans remained in central Santa Barbara on Monday. Other pelicans had been transferred to the large International Bird Rescue Los Angeles County Hospital.
The San Pedro center had 204 seabirds this week, including 80 that had recovered enough to enter a outdoor aviary.
Some aren’t strong enough yet, said Rebecca Duerr, director of research and veterinary science at the hospital.
In addition to anemia and dehydration, a few pelicans have been hit by vehicles and several have been injured by hooks, signs likely related to riskier attempts to find food, she said.
The number of new patients appeared to be slowing this week, but Duerr said another surge could occur. This year’s babies are likely still in nests, including on the Channel Islands, home to the largest breeding colonies of seabirds in the western United States.
“When that stream of baby birds comes, we don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said.
On Wednesday, rehabilitation centers from San Diego to Monterey reported more than 330 pelican patients and another 200 deceased, Perry said.
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Necropsies performed on several of the birds showed signs of starvation. None had tested positive for highly pathogenic bird flu found elsewhere, she said.
It is unclear why so many birds ended up starving to death. The pelicans’ main food sources of sardines, mackerel and anchovies seem to be doing well.
Other factors such as high winds could affect the bird’s ability to dive to fish. But at this point, Perry said, “we don’t have any hard evidence of one thing or another leading to the environment.”
The agency collects data on sick and dead pelicans and helps rehabilitation centers get enough fish for the birds, she said.
“Pelicans really have a metabolism like a growing teenager when they build muscle after being emaciated almost to death,” Duerr said.
A pelican can eat five pounds of fish a day, she said.
Once threatened with extinction, the California brown pelican was removed from the federal endangered species list in 2009.
Beginning in the 1960s, the pesticide DDT wreaked tremendous havoc on pelicans, as well as bald eagles and other birds. Contamination led to eggshells becoming so thin that they shattered in the nests.
While DDT was banned in the 1970s, its effects off the southern California coast have lasted for decades.
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To help
Cheri Carlson covers the environment for the Ventura County Star. Contact her at [email protected] or 805-437-0260.
