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Pelicans rest at San Pedro bird center after being beaten up by severe January storms in California. (IBRRC photo) |
Dear friends and members,
California Brown pelicans need your help. The relentless storms and torrential rains in California are impacting Pelicans and the number of wet, cold and often hypothermic birds arriving at our centers is growing rapidly.
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International Bird Rescue Research Center’s rehabilitation clinics in San Pedro near Los Angeles Harbor and Fairfield, near San Francisco Bay, are currently taking in many wet and cold brown pelicans. Our Los Angeles center has rescued 40 birds in the past 48 hours and more are being captured and being brought as I write. Our Fairfield center in California is also expecting to receive approximately 40 birds by tomorrow and that number is also growing. We expect to have about 100 wet and cold brown pelicans by this weekend.
Like all water birds, pelicans have waterproof feathers that allow them to float and stay insulated from weather changes. Waterproof feathers also allow them to fly and plunge feed for fish. Brown pelicans tend to feed and congregate near harbors and river mouths where nutrients from the runoff attract fish and other creatures. Pelicans can easily become dirty from pollution in these areas and can lose their waterproofing. The current massive runoff from the storms has brought even more grease, car oil sheen, fish oils and other forms of surface pollution into the coastal areas where these birds feed. Many brown pelicans have been found soaking wet and hypothermic. Since the storms keep coming, one after another, the wet birds do not have time to dry off and feed and succumb to hypothermia.
The silver lining in this scenario is that the majority of these birds respond very well to being washed and rehabilitated.
A reporter just interviewed me and asked me who was responsible for this mess? I answered, “Well, the pollution clearly is the result of pollution caused by human activity so it stands to reason that “we” are responsible to help them”. ‘We,’ meaning the people who co-inhabit the planet with these birds.
IBRRC is doing what we can to rescue brown pelicans but we can’t save these birds without your help. The average cost of rehabilitating a brown pelican is $500. You can donate on-line, adopt a pelican or even become a pelican partner and be there when “your” pelican is released. You can read about the many options for donating to us on our web site. We are also taking live footage of these birds and will post this on our Facebook page as well as the IBRRC blog which you can access through our website.
Thank you for your consideration and your continued support. It is the difference between life and death for these animals.
Jay Holcomb, Executive Director
International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC)
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