gulls

This is day three of having pelicans circling over the mouth of Big Creek and resting on the beach. Two days ago I counted about 53 pelicans. This morning, there were at least 120. The were flying up the canyon, landing in the bushes, in the road and in the ceonothus. They were landing in the creek and floating down to the beach. Some were getting hung up in branches. One bird has gotten tangled up in some willows and drowned. However, apart from one bird with a skin injury and the one that was tangled, the birds seem to be resting comfortably. I can’t determine from a distance if they are weak or starving.

Below are some links that discuss what might be going on. Explanations range from crowded southern breeding sites, to following northerly El Nino-driven food sources, to being oiled by coastal runoff pollution and soaked by the multiple storms over the past week.

International Bird Rescue Research Center has an article about pelican troubles with specific attention paid to greasy coastal runoff affecting their feather insulation.

An article about pelicans being in Oregon, late for this time of year.

Wildlife Rescue, a non-profit dedicated to rescuing troubled wildlife. Search for their pelican entries

The past year we have seen many gulls using the beach to rest and bathe in the freshwater of Big Creek. It is nice to know that they trust this beach to be quiet and not impacted by much activity. Sometimes there are 100-200 gulls at a time. They leave a lot of evidence of their presence as well. The past week and a half we have been experiencing rather strong winter storms. We had three days in a row of large ocean swells and 55 mph maximum wind gusts at Whale Point. It has been remarkable to see the cormorants and sea otters foraging in the surf zone nevertheless.

But today I saw pelicans circling over the Gatehouse and swooping down over the beach road and the creek mouth. One even landed next to the outhouse at the parking lot. This is very unusual! I walked down to the beach to see what was going on and found greater than 50 pelicans and about 300 gulls sitting on the beach and bathing in the creek. One pelican was even drifting down the creek from the big pool out to the far side of the beach. The flock consisted mostly breeding adults with a few younger and even less juveniles. They were resting, sleeping, bathing and drinking. I suppose it has been difficult to forage in such stormy conditions. Perhaps they are just exhausted…