SAN FRANCISCO – The sight of brown pelicans diving headfirst into the ocean in pursuit of a meal represents one of the distinctive visual images of the California coast, their dramatic flight the highlight of a predatory mission.Those instances have been dwindling.For the third time in four years, large numbers of these singular birds are requiring rescue as they show clear signs of starvation, raising alarms among experts about their future well-being and about aquatic birds in general.“It’s very troubling that it is this common,” said JD Bergeron, CEO of International Bird Rescue, a conservation organization that focuses on waterfowl. “We’re getting birds brought in every single day, which is a scary sign.”They’ve added up to 183 since early March at Bird Rescue’s facilities in the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas, where more than 400 brown pelicans with similar symptoms of emaciation were treated last year. In the spring of 2022, aid groups received almost 800 stranded pelicans and were able to return half of them to the wild, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.Hungry pelicans will take risks searching for foodHundreds of others are believed to have died before they could be rescued, not only malnourished but frequently injured from entanglements with fishing lines or cut by hooks as they tried to steal a catch. Bergeron said famished pelicans will engage in such risky behavior and also stray inland away from their habitat in search of food – they prefer fish like anchovies and sardines but may settle for small amphibians – and have wound up in parking lots and gotten hit by cars. Last year one made its way onto the field during a San Francisco Giants home game and became a bit of a sensation.The reason so many pelicans are underfed has not been scientifically established, but Bergeron is among those who believe warming ocean water near the surface has prompted fish to swim deeper seeking a cooler habitat, out of pelicans’ reach.Even with their long beaks and dives from up to 100 feet in the air, brown pelicans are too buoyant to get much deeper than six feet into the water, Bergeron said, suggesting their strandings may be a sign of bigger problems to come.The Department of Fish and Wildlife said it’s working on a response with the federal government and other partners, and it warns the public to keep its distance from the birds.A volunteer feeds sick brown pelicans recuperating at the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center of Orange County on May 14, 2024, in Huntington Beach, California. The center cared for over 100 brown pelicans that were found starving, anemic and suffering from hypothermia.’Something not going right’ with seabirds“I think we’re dealing with the seabirds in the ocean as the indicator of something really not going right,” Bergeron said. “It’s not just pelicans. In my 10 years in this organization we’ve also had challenges with other seabirds routinely. I think climate change is a consistent and clear part of that, but I’m not a climate scientist.”Weeks before the malnourishment came to light, wildlife organizations in Southern California had reported an increasing number of seabirds – including pelicans, red-throated loons and western grebes – were being harmed by domoic acid, a toxin caused by algal blooms that leads to neurological disorders.No such issues have been detected in Northern California this year, but anemic brown pelicans require 3-6 weeks of feeding and often treatment for injuries. The species was on the endangered list for nearly four decades – from 1970 to 2009 – because of exposure to the pesticide DDT, and they’re still protected.Hospital manager Teal Helms (R) and volunteer Gali Begim perform intake on a sick brown pelican patient at the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center of Orange County on May 14, 2024, in Huntington Beach, California.Bergeron fears regression without vigilance in their protection.”There is still a healthy population of pelicans,” Bergeron said. “The concern is a large number of them are coming in for starvation (treatment). At some point there will be a massive mortality event when they have been starving long enough and have not been rescued.”This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: California rescue reports ‘troubling’ number of starving pelicans
