Help: “It’s raining Brown Pelicans!”
By Charlie • February 12, 2010 • 8 comments
Last summer my Californian buddy Jack Cole and I went to the wonderful International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC) in Fairfield, California. It was an emotional and extremely inspiring visit, and I ended up writing two (quite long) posts: The IBRRC: special place, special people (Part One) and More from the IBRRC - releasing cormorants.
In fact so moved was I by the people I met and the work the IBRRC does that I began the first post with “Occasionally - and it is occasionally - you get to do something, go somewhere, or meet someone that genuinely inspires, humbles, or excites you.”
Now the IBBRC needs our help.
Severe storms pounded the Californian coast in late-January literally battering pelicans and other seabirds. Compounding the effects of the storms there has been mass pollution caused by run-off which has washed toxins and rubbish into the sea through storm-drains, off coastal roads, and from agriculture alongside the Pacific Ocean. Seabirds have been poisoned, hurt, exhausted, and killed in huge numbers.
Literally hundreds and hundreds of Brown Pelicans are in care (photo left, copyright IBRRC) and the bill for cleaning, looking after, and feeding them is enormous - and growing all the time.
If you - like me - have stood in awe watching the flocks of Brown Pelicans that feed off the Californian coast then please read the press-release below and please consider donating to help the incredibly selfless volunteers who work for the IBRRC and other welfare groups: without help those large flocks, those incredibly graceful birds, may not be there the next time you go and look for them…
NEWS RELEASE:
Pelican Crisis Pushes California Wildlife Groups to Breaking PointFour wildlife rescue centers in California have written to State and Federal authorities to request their urgent attention and support in dealing with an unprecedented number of wet, starving adult California
Brown Pelicans being recovered from the Central and Southern California coastlines. With wildlife groups shouldering the cost of care, some are concerned that they may have to temporarily close their doors in order to cope.To date, the four organizations (International Bird Rescue Research Center, Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center, Pacific Wildlife Care and Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network) have received nearly 500 pelicans since January 1st, creating a severe strain on human and financial resources for each organization. They are now being forced to seriously consider shutting their doors to further casualties in spite of the potential consequences of such a decision to the communities and the wildlife that they serve.
“We feel it is our duty to share this information with the agencies ultimately responsible for these animals and to ask for their help at this critical time,” says Jay Holcomb, IBRRC Director and spokesperson for the Wildlife Groups. “Members of the public are reporting sightings of sick and dying pelicans with increasing frequency and there may be a negative reaction if there is an expectation of care for these birds but no resources to respond.”
The wildlife groups impacted by this situation are asking for financial support as well as involvement by the authorities in developing both a clear strategy for the situation in hand and for the future. They are also asking for the public to support rescue efforts by donating to the organization in your area.
Contact information for the four wildlife centers affected is as follows:
- International Bird Rescue Research Center, San Pedro, Los Angeles and Fairfield, San Francisco Bay
www.ibrrc.orgMedia Contact: Paul Kelway – (310) 691-9558
- Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center, Huntington Beach, Orange County
www.wwccoc.org
Media Contact: Debbie McGuire - (714) 713-1155- Pacific Wildlife Care, San Luis Obispo
www.pacificwildlifecare.org
Media Contact: Dani Nicholson – (805) 772-9494- Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network, Santa Barbara
www.sbwcn.org
Media Contact: Julia Parker – (805) 681-1080
UPDATE: After consultation with the members of the 10,000 Birds Conservation Club we have just made a 100USD donation to the IBRRC. Details are posted at Conservation Club donation to IBRRC
Have you seen the cool 10,000 Birds t-shirts? Get yours today!
Thanks for your timely post on this catastrophe Charlie. The IBRRC has long been one of my favorite organizations and I strongly support sending them a contribution from the 10000Birds Conservation Club.
Thank you so much for posting for the pelicans. Our seabird pond (Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network) has been overwhelmed with starving pelicans, and like all facilities, running out of fish money! We really appreciate your publicizing the plight of these gentle birds. Any contributions or assistance are badly needed, please call 805-681-1080.
Thank you!
Thanks for writing about this Charlie. I’m one of the volunteers you met when you came out to visit IBRRC. It’s unbelievable the numbers of Pelicans we are receiving and they are so Hungry!!! We are working hard to help these wonderful birds but we need help too. Just like the Algae Bloom birds there is no funding since this is a non oil spill event. Check out our IBRRC blog for current news and videos of rescues.
Hello everyone and THANK YOU for your kind words and support. This is Jay Holcomb, the Director of IBRRC. As i told a reporter recently, “in all my 40 plus years as a wildlife rehabilitator I have never experienced a die off at this magnitude that is hitting so many mature, adult birds”. Who really knows all the reasons why we are experiencing this event or should i say why the pelicans are experiencing this but one thing is for sure. This event is just one in a series of what we are calling “events” that are impacting large numbers of birds along the west coast of North America. In the last year alone we had another pelican event, a cormorant die off and subsequent abandonment of the entire breeding colony of cormorants on Alcatraz Island, a large algae event along Oregon and Washington that killed an estimated 10,000 birds and now this large pelican die off.
Here is the bottom line. Our marine environment is changing and scientists cannot and will not, yet, put their fingers on the exact reasons for this as there are many factors involved in all these events, but rehabilitators who live on the front lines see the impacts and casualties of this change are very aware of it. We and the scientists continue to work on it. None-the-less, IBRRC continues to provide the best care we can for the birds that we think have a chance of survival and in our recent event we have had some pelicans come back to us that we rehabilitated before. Some pelicans returned to us that were rehabilitated in last years pelican event and some that came to us years before with injuries, oiling and fishing tackle entanglements. IBRRC is one of the few wildlife rehabilitation centers that federally bands all it birds upon release. By doing this we have the advantage of knowing if some of them make it or not and we gain incredibly valuable information about these birds. The return of some of these birds to our center is significant in that it proves or shows that our efforts to help them were either worth it or not.
All in all we are committed to taking reasonable actions to help birds in these events. Again, thank you all for your support. Check out our web site to read about our work, pelicans and our pelican banding program.
Jay
Hi Cheryl: How are you - I remember you well of course. You guys are doing such a fantastic job.
We’ve made a small donation to the cause - I wish it could be more, but I’m sure the public will be helping out too.
Cheers
Charlie
Jay: Many thanks for taking the time in what must be an incredibly busy period to let us and our readers know what is going on - there is indeed a tragedy unfolding off the west coast and without you and the other welfare groups to look after these stricken seabirds the situation would obviously be even worse than it is now.
I’ve taken the liberty of copying your important comment onto a more recent post so that more readers can see it.
All the very best and thanks again for commenting.
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good blog love this stuff