IBRRC takes stock of pelican storm casualties

As of today, IBRRC's Los Angeles Center has now received a total of 130 non-oiled birds since the beginning of last week's storms. 107 of these birds were pelicans. In addition, 9 oiled birds from natural seep and 6 oiled birds from the spill in Huntington Beach have been received.

The center is shutting its doors to pelicans and other birds being transferred from other wildlife centers for the next 48 hours to help cope with the influx of wildlife casualties.

IBRRC's San Francisco Bay Center has now received 50 pelicans and expect another 20 in the coming days. A number of ducks (including buffleheads and canvasbacks) have also arrived, some that have been shot and others downed by the storms.

We will be trying our best to keep updating these numbers.

Media report:

 

KTLA-TV: Hundreds of Pelicans Rescued After Latest Storms

"Penguins, Pelicans, and People" talk in Sonoma

Jay Holcomb of IBRRC will share his stories and experiences in a lecture this month that spotlights how humans are affecting two beloved species of birds: Pelicans and Penguins.

The talk will be held on Thursday, April 16 at 7:30 PM in Sonoma and is called "Penguins, Pelicans, and People." The suggested donation for the event is $5.

It will be held at Andrews Hall at the Sonoma Community Center: 276 E Napa St, Sonoma, CA 95476. Map

Holcomb is Executive Director of the International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC). Under his leadership the organization has responded to over 200 oil spills including the Cosco Busan spill in San Francisco Bay in 2007. The group was born out of the 1971 oil spill at the Golden Gate when volunteers cared for hundreds of oiled animals. Read Jay Holcomb's full bio


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This lecture is a joint effort with the Sonoma Community Center and Sonomabirding.org. The monthly lectures focused on birding topics. This spring, the lectures will be the foundation for a larger set of nature-related curricula including classes, outdoor adventures and a sub-series of short seminars called "The 110 Series."

Media steps up reports on Brown Pelican crisis

More news reports are coming out, some with humourous images (right) about the current brown pelican crisis in California. Currently there are 75 pelicans in care at IBRRC's two bird centers:

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.''

From the Daily Telegraph in Australia: See Full story



Others

Scientific American: Mystery: Why are California Brown pelicans dying in droves?

National Geographic: VIDEO: Mystery Pelican Die-Off in California

Fox-35 TV: Brown Pelican Mystery Intensifies As Deaths Increase

KSBW-TV: Rash Of Sick Pelicans Found Along Coast

AP: Increase of sick brown pelicans baffles experts

How to help

Adopt-a-Pelican

Donate to IBRRC

Volunteer at IBRRC

Your help and words of encouragement are always appreciated!

What's causing fatigued pelicans to drop from sky?

The ongoing discovery of scores of fatigued and disoriented California Brown Pelicans is causing concern among biologists and bird lovers, but yielding few concrete answers to what's causing their condition.

Since late in December, the giant seabirds have been found in frail condition along highways and backyards, miles from their coastal homes. At both IBRRC bird centers, but especially at the San Pedro center, we've had our hands full treating these remarkable birds. There are almost 50 pelicans in care this week alone.

Writer Louis Sahagun and photographer Mark Boster of the Los Angeles Times collaborated to capture the concern for these pelicans:

Wildlife rescuers from San Diego to San Francisco suddenly are facing a distressing biological mystery: Disoriented and bruised California brown pelicans are landing on highways and airport runways and in farm fields, alleys and backyards miles from their normal coastal haunts.

In the last week, the big brown birds known for flying in formation over beaches have been reported wobbling across Culver Boulevard in Playa del Rey and on a Los Angeles International Airport runway. Two dead pelicans were found on the 110 Freeway. Elsewhere, one smacked into a car.

See: California brown pelicans found frail and far from home

View: The LA Times photo gallery

Learn how you can help us care for these birds: Adopt-a-Pelican

They don't come with credit cards: Birds in need

Aquatic bird specialists, International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC) is noticing a trend in California Brown Pelicans along the coastline from Monterey to San Diego and they need your help.

An unusual number of birds are coming in thin and disoriented - being found on roads and in fields. What is remarkable is that many are adult pelicans. Often this behavior is associated with domoic acid from a marine algae but so far the birds exhibit no other typical neurological disorders. The center now has 40 in care; ten pelicans came in in the last few days.

IBRRC is asking for your help in reporting ailing pelicans to your local rescue organization or by calling the toll-free California Wildlife Hotline 866-WILD-911. You are encouraged to leave information on dead pelicans there as well by pressing option 2.

How to help

Both of IBRRC's facilities are in need of assistance in transporting pelicans from other centers and with the care of the high number of birds in treatment. There's dire need for funds to offset the cost of caring for these huge birds - their adopt a pelican program is a unique way to help while being personally involved in a pelican's care and release. Adopt-a-pelican

To help, please send inquiries to info@ibrrc.org or call the Fairfield facility at (707) 207-0380 Ext 110 or the San Pedro center at (310) 514-2573.

Kudos to the Daily Breeze newspaper in Southern California for the pelican story Swooping in for birds in need: Pelicans overload rescue center in San Pedro. The article captures perfectly the increase in sick and hungry brown pelicans coming into the San Pedro bird center.

Jay Holcomb, IBRRC's Executive Director was quoted in the article:

"We don't usually get that many that come in at this time of year. We've been getting them regularly, and we've been concerned about it," Holcomb said. "They're expensive animals - they eat tons of fish and require a lot of medicine. We'll never shut the door to them, but they don't come in with credit cards."

More Adopt a bird info and Donate online info.

Busch Conservation grant helps pelicans in distress

Thanks to a generous grant from SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, brown pelicans in distress will get more help in California. The Fund recently issued a grant to IBRRC totaling $5,000 in emergency funding to help the organization purchase food and medical supplies.

Since June 2008, hundreds of injured brown pelicans with hook, tackle and line injuries have come into the International Bird Rescue Rehabilitation Center's (IBRRC) two California facilities.

The birds, migrating north from Mexico through Southern California, are becoming entangled in fishing gear as they feed on sardines and anchovies near the same piers and wharfs as local anglers in Santa Cruz, CA. When anglers reel in a catch, the birds try to eat the fish off the long lines. The lines are either cut or broken, leaving the birds injured and in need of care.

A non-profit foundation, the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund supports wildlife research, habitat protection, animal rescue and education in the U.S. and around the world. In addition to annual grants that have exceeded $5 million over the past five years, the Fund also issues animal crisis grants to provide rapid, much-needed funding to aid animals and habitats in peril due to either natural or human-caused events.

Good news: Disney grant helps with pelican crisis

A big thanks to the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund (DWCF) for its $5,000 emergency grant to IBRRC to help pay for rehabilitating the injured pelicans found along the coast of California.

IBRRC was overwhelmed with hundreds of injured Brown Pelicans this summer at both California bird centers. Most were brought in for hook and fishing line entanglement injuries as they competed with local fishermen in the Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay areas.

The cost of feeding the pelicans will cost more than $35,000. The public also stepped up to help. If you have a couple of extra bucks, please help as you can: Donate or Adopt-a-Pelican

The Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund (DWCF) was established in 1995 as a global awards program for the study and protection of the world's wildlife and ecosystems. It provides annual awards to US nonprofit conservation organizations working alongside their peers in other countries. Many of the recipient organizations concentrate their activities on "biological hotspots" -- areas rich in plant and animal life at risk of imminent destruction. Read more

11 pelicans found with intentionally broken wings

What is it that causes so much anger against Brown Pelicans?

This week 11 young pelicans were found with their wings intentionally broken along an Orange County beach in Southern California. Only one pelican has survived. There's now a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Local wildlife officials say the attacks appear to be intentional. Lisa Birkle, assistant wildlife director at the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center, said the injuries were consistent: "Someone is snapping the wings backward." She said local residents noticed fishing boats close to shore where pelicans also feed.

Pelicans have been a target of cruel and unusual acts. Each year IBRRC bird center wildlife clinics treat pelicans with slashed pouches and other injuries that appear to be intentional. In 2003, IBRRC received mutilated pelicans that showed up at Cabrillo Beach near San Pedro.

The California Brown Pelican is still protected by the Endangered Species Act. Anyone with information relating to these incidents is encouraged to contact Special Agent Ed Newcomer of U.S. Fish and Wildlife at (310) 328-1516.

If you can make a donation to help all pelicans that come into the rescue center, go to the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center's website. To add to the reward money, please call IBRRC at (310) 514-2573.

Read more: Pelicans in Peril

See the Los Angeles Times article:

11 pelicans found with wings broken at Bolsa Chica beach

Discarded fishing tackle a monumental mess

At IBRRC we've been witnessing first hand the mess that discarded fishing tackle causes on the lives of aquatic birds. Our recent response to brown pelicans in Santa Cruz and Monterey showed a high percentage of birds injured after being caught up in hooks and fishing line that are so much a part of the marine environment.

Not surprising there's some disturbing statistics coming from the California Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project:

Since May 2006, the California Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project has retrieved nearly 11 tons of gear from around the California Channel Islands (Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa and Santa Catalina). As well, the project has cleaned more than 1400 pounds of recreational fishing gear off public fishing piers from Santa Cruz to Imperial Beach including more than 1 million feet of fishing line. Several of these piers now have fishing line recycling bins, to encourage proper disposal of unwanted hooks and microfilament. See the full report

And don't even get us started on the mess that discarded plastics – including toys and cigarette lighters – leaves on the ocean. Read: Birds suffer as world's oceans become a big garbage can

All is not lost: 10 Things You Can Do To Save the Oceans

Pelican response update: Current numbers

The influx of pelicans from Santa Cruz and Monterey areas has slowed down at IBRRC's two bird rescue centers. The most recent birds are mostly fishing tackle injuries from the Santa Cruz/Monterey area and have problems as we assume many have been injured for days or weeks and coming into the center in poor condition. At the San Pedro center, we're still getting a more regular flow of pelicans, about ten a week.

And there's more good news, dedicated staff and volunteers have worked hard to rehabilitate these remarkable birds. Many have been released back into the wild. (See photo above)

Since June 15th IBRRC has taken in more than 150 endangered brown pelicans. Between the two California bird centers, 339 birds have been cared for since the beginning of 2008.

Here's the current numbers:

Current totals in house: 87

Cordelia: 50
San Pedro: 37

Total Fishing tackle injuries: 125

Cordelia: 75
San Pedro: 50

Total Released: 140

Cordelia: 66
San Pedro: 74

Total intakes in 2008: 339

Cordelia: 164
San Pedro: 175

As always, IBRRC is appealing for public support to help us pay the ENORMOUS fish bill for this response. It will easily hit $40,000 by the month's end.

Thanks to all who already supported our efforts!

Media reports:

Santa Cruz Sentinel: Pelican injuries take a toll

Also see the video

San Jose Mercury News story

Video: Pelicans feeding at Capitola Wharf

Here's another awesome video of young pelicans feeding at Capitola Wharf in Santa Cruz County from videographer extraordinaire, Rebecca Dymytryk Titus. The wharf is now closed to fisherman. Earlier in the week officials finally had the gumption to shut the pier to prevent further injury to pelicans becoming entangled in fishing line and hooks.

IBRRC is still treating 60 injured pelicans caught in fishing line in a standoff with local fishermen.

Read the earlier posting

Pelican update: Video of thousands of birds

From Rebecca Dmytryk Titus, who is helping coordinate the Pelican response in Santa Cruz County:

We arrived at the Cement Ship fishing pier on Seacliff Beach to find thousands of birds near shore feeding on bait fish (see video above). We did see three pelicans with line, none we could approach for a successful capture. It was good to see the ship was closed to fishing and people, for the most part, we're letting the birds be.

Found a tangled or weak bird that needs immediate care? Please call the wildlife hotline at 866-WILD-911.

IBRRC is treating a high number of young pelicans caught in fishing line and long-line hooks. Both of our centers are overwhelmed with birds in car. The fish bill alone for this crisis will cost us $20,000. If you can help us with a donation, please do so. Donate now or adopt-a-pelican. Thanks!

Fishing pier finally closed at Capitola Wharf

After pressure from locals and wildlife rescuers, the Capitola Wharf was finally shutdown for fishing in an effort to prevent pelicans from becoming entangled in fishing line and hooks.

IBRRC has been rescuing a lot of young brown pelicans along Santa Cruz County beaches after thousands of the birds descended on area fishing areas. The cement ship fishing pier in Aptos was closed earlier in the week to prevent more carnage as pelicans got tangled in fishing lines and were snared by long line fish hooks.

See the ABC-TV report

Read earlier post: Crisis continues for Brown Pelicans along coast

Crisis continues for Brown Pelicans along coast

In the last few days our Northern California rehabilitation center, located in Fairfield, received another 25 brown pelicans from the Santa Cruz area. That makes a total of 137 pelicans this year in Northern California alone and 115 of those pelicans have come in since June 15th! Until recently they have been mostly young birds that are learning to fish and are feeding on large schools of anchovies and sardines that are moving along the California coastline. As of today, more than 30 of the birds that have come to our center are suffering from injuries due to fishing hooks and monofilament line entanglement.

Overview of the Current Crisis Situation

For those of you that don’t remember, in 2002 IBRRC received 200 injured pelicans from Santa Cruz within a month because large numbers of brown pelicans were feeding on anchovies under the Santa Cruz piers. Fisherman fishing from the piers can catch up to five small fish at a time by basically creating a long line system where each line has up to five leads with hooks on the ends of them. The lines are dropped from very high piers and are often pulled up with up to 5 wiggling fish on them. Pelicans see this as a free meal and grab them, becoming entangled. The fishermen get annoyed, cut the lines and then the pelicans are found on the wharf and local beaches with injuries and entanglements. This is happening right now!

In 2002 IBRRC worked with local government and California Fish & Game to temporarily close the Santa Cruz wharf to fishing until the bait fish moved out of the area. This tactic was successful and ended the fishing tackle entanglements. We are again asking the regulatory agencies to temporarily close these areas to fishing. This year the problem is much worse as three different piers are being used for fishing and literally thousands of brown pelicans are feeding on the fish. Two of the piers are now closed but one remains open to fishing. One fisherman complained to reporters that he is catching a pelican every 20 minutes and cutting the line.

Media report: ABC-TV: Pelicans getting fatally snared in Capitola

IBRRC as the Hub for west coast pelican rehabilitation

IBRRC has the largest facilities and most advanced program for pelican and sea bird rehabilitation along the west coast of the US. Each of our rehabilitation centers is equipped with a one hundred foot long pelican flight aviary. These aviaries are specifically built for pelicans and provide them flight rehabilitation. Each aviary can hold up to 75 birds at a time and both are in full use right now.

Your support is desperately needed

As I write this appeal there are 70 brown pelicans at our Northern California center, in Fairfield, receiving treatment for fishing tackle injuries and other problems and an equal amount at our Southern California facility in San Pedro. Each pelican eats up to 5 pounds of fish a day. The low estimate of a single pelican’s cost to rehabilitate is $20.00 per day. In truth, the cost is much more for those that require antibiotics and further care. I am asking for your financial support again to help us in this crisis situation.

We have set up many ways for our supporters to contribute. Donations in any amount you wish are always welcome. You may Adopt a Pelican or become a Pelican Partner. Becoming a Pelican Partner provides you with the opportunity to receive a private tour of one of our facilities and join our staff or volunteers at the release of the pelican that you have adopted and helped. I urge you to help us rehabilitate these pelicans. Share this information with friends and encourage their involvement. Help us: Adopt-a-Pelican or Donate

Thank you from all the staff and volunteers at IBRRC for your help.

Jay Holcomb
Executive Director
International Bird Rescue Research Center, IBRRC

Media picks up unfolding Pelican story

Check out these latest media reports:

ABC-TV: Pelicans getting fatally snared in Capitola

Daily Democrat: Pelicans nursed back to health

More pelicans tangled in fishing line & hooks

IBRRC admitted nine pelicans from Santa Cruz yesterday. Each one was suffering injuries from entanglement in fishing line and hooks. While it is not surprising for the marine and aquatic bird specialists to receive large numbers of pelicans in a day, especially this time of year, the oddity is that these casualties of fishing had come from one area, Santa Cruz.

They have seen this before. Back in 2002, International Bird Rescue received 200 young pelicans from Santa Cruz within a one-month period. They found that fishermen off Santa Cruz Pier, at the wharf, were targeting schooling anchovies using what’s called a longline – one strand of fishing line with multiple hooks. As the fishermen reel in their wriggling fish, pelicans, mostly young, inexperienced birds, grab the prey and become snared in the line. The lines often break or they are cut. The pelicans fly off trailing line and often with imbedded hooks. In 2002 state agencies closed the wharf temporarily until the bait-fish moved on. Read news article

Yesterday, rescuers confirmed sightings of this type of fishing going on off the cement ship at Seacliff Beach in Capitola and off of the Santa Cruz Pier. Dead pelicans were washing up snared in line, and a number of still flighted birds were spotted entangled and in need of help. Update: California Fish & Games has reportedly closed Seacliff Pier (the cement ship area) to fishing.

Today, rescuers will return to the area to try and catch the injured animals. Help is expected from the California Department of Fish & Game and US Fish & Wildlife Services in dealing with this matter. Citizens are being asked to report sightings to local rescuers – they can find contact information through a toll-free wildlife hotline for California 866-WILD-911 or by calling rescue coordinator Rebecca Dmytryk, 831-869-6241. PLEASE DO NOT CALL IBRRC! Thanks.

Also see:

Fishing around pelicans: Some suggestions

Adopt-a-Pelican

Helping us get the word out: LA Times story

The Los Angeles Times has a really terrific story this weekend about our efforts with young starving pelicans at our Southern California center. Julie King, IBRRC's San Pedro center manager is quoted near perfectly:

..."Will they survive after we let them go? Hard to say," King said. "But I do know this; we are giving these birds a second chance to get back in the wild and figure it all out..."

Worth reading: Bird rehab gives young pelicans a second chance

Starving young pelican numbers grow: Help!

The number of young pelicans sick and starving arriving at IBRRC's two bird centers continues to grow.

Jay Holcomb, IBRRC's executive director, has issued a plea to the public for help in treating these birds. The fish bill alone is at least $750 a day between the two centers. You can help by adopting a pelican or becoming a pelican partner to assist us in our long-term support for these endangered animals. Read his urgent appeal

More than 150 pelicans have been delivered to the Cordelia/Fairfield and San Pedro Centers in the past six weeks. Dedicated staff and the wonderful volunteers at both centers continue to assist these wonderful birds.

Most of the birds are weak due to lack of food and some have more serious injuries, according to Holcomb. He says it's not uncommon for the centers to treat ailing pelicans during the summer months. This year the numbers are definitely up and partly this can be attributed a successful nesting season for pelicans in the Channel Islands.

Some good news

The good news today is that some of the earlier arrivals have been stabilized with fish and TLC and are being released. Six California Brown Pelicans were turned back to the wild Saturday afternoon at Fort Baker's Horseshoe Cove in Sausalito.

Media reports:

Influx of rescued pelicans in California: ABC News

Pelicans nursed back to health: Vacaville Reporter

Pelicans released back to the wild: The Daily Breeze photos

Sick and hungry pelicans flooding bird centers

It's another busy summer season for the staff and volunteers at IBRRC as sick and starving young pelicans arrive for treatment at both California centers. Since June nearly 100 pelicans have been transfered to the bird rescue centers – one in San Pedro and the other in Cordelia, CA – to be given the best possible care. They're coming from Monterey/Santa Cruz and Los Angeles/Orange County area beaches.

To help defray the cost of caring for the pelicans, IBRRC is asking for the public's help. Currently the pelicans are eating at least $750 worth of fish a day.

You can adopt a pelican through the bird center's adopt-a-bird program for $200. For a $500 adoption fee you can become a Pelican Partner. When your pelican is ready for release, you will be invited to one of our two bird centers in California and watch as our staff gives your bird its final examination, evaluation, approval and numbered Federal band. You and your family will then accompany IBRRC staff to release your pelican at a local site. You will be the one to open the cage, let your pelican go free and take photos or video of this wonderful experience. A beautiful commemorative certificate will include your name, the date and place of release and your pelican’s band number. You will also receive a IBRRC t-shirt.


Luckily this year IBRRC completed construction of a new 100-foot pelican aviary at its Cordelia, CA bird center. The aviary allows pelicans to recuperate in large comfortable setting. It has two large pools and perches for the birds to fly back and forth to stretch their wings. The aviary was completed with funds from the Green Foundation and the Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN). The San Pedro center has had a pelican aviary since it opened in 2001.



How to help: Adopt-a-Pelican

More information on Pelicans in Peril

Found a bird? How to handle a sick or injured pelican or other aquatic birds.

Pelicans to come off endangered species list

After 40 years of being on the precipice of extinction the Brown Pelican is poised to be removed from the national endangered species list, according to recent announcement by the U.S. Interior Department. See: Los Angeles Times report

The pelicans were put on the endangered species list after the use of the pesticide DDT caused catastrophic reproductive failure in the late 1960s. The pesticide affected pelican eggs and the reproductive health on these majestic birds. When DDT was finally banned in 1972, the pelican population slowly made a rebound. Now at least 70,000 breeding pairs of pelicans now live in California and Baja California.

IBRRC treats hundreds of sick and injured pelicans each year at its two bird centers in California. Most recently, pelicans have been affected by domoic acid or algae bloom outbreaks along the California coast. And fishing line injuries continue to rise as man encroaches on more of this birds' habitat.

The legacy of DDT is still with us. Scientific studies say that the ocean floor off the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Southern California remains highly contaminated by the pesticide. The Montrose Chemical Company, a Torrance manufacturer of DDT, dumped pesticide laden wastewater into storm drains from 1947 to 1983. An estimated 1,700 tons of DDT made its way to the Pacific Ocean. DDT settled on the ocean floor and the EPA is still dealing with the issue. Since 1985, fish consumption advisories and health warnings have been posted in this area because of elevated DDT and PCB levels. Bottom-feeding fish are particularly at risk for high contamination levels

Read more reports on the EPA website: Palos Verdes Shelf DDT information.