Photo by Roy W. Lowe, USFWS - Law protects brown pelicans - The public is advised not to feed or disturb California brown pelicans, which are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, making it illegal to capture, kill or possess them. Wildlife officials request that the public refrain from feeding the birds, so they don't become habituated to human contact.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been receiving calls about California brown pelicans that are either washing up dead on the Oregon coast or exhibiting behavior that is uncharacteristic for the species, for example, begging for food, having no fear of humans and eating bread crumb handouts.
Many of the birds are emaciated or starving, and this is the reason for their seeming lack of fear of humans, a press release from USFWS said.
After the breeding season in California and Mexico, California brown pelicans migrate north throughout California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia in the summer months and usually begin to head back south in large numbers in October. This year, however, a large number of pelicans remained along the Oregon coast through the winter.
Recent storms and high winds have limited the pelicans’ ability to hunt and dive for food. These and other unknown factors contribute to the pelicans’ behavior of begging for food. The USFWS discourages hand-feeding pelicans, as their diet is very specific. The well-intentioned feeding of bones and heads of fish to pelicans can cause damage to their throat pouch. Also, fish bait can be contaminated with harmful bacteria or may be treated with chemicals to promote better fishing or preserve the bait, but it can make a pelican very ill.
The pelicans are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which makes it illegal to capture, kill or possess them. Anyone found in violation of the law could face penalties of up to $15,000 in fines and/or six months’ imprisonment for each violation.
If you have information about anyone violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, you can fill in a violation report form online at http://www.fws.gov/pacific/law-enforcement/reportviolations.html or call your local USFWS special agent at (503) 682-6131.
If you find a brown pelican that is alive but appears to be starving, here is what to do:
If the bird is in the area of the coast from Florence south to Gold Beach, call Free Flight Bird and Marine Mammal Rehabilitation at 541-347-3882. You can visit their Web site at http://www.freeflight-wildlife.org.
If the bird is in the area of the coast from Astoria to Yachats, call the Wildlife Center of the North Coast at (503) 338-3954 or visit http://www.coastwildlife.org/Home.html.
If you find a dead brown pelican, leave it where you found it. Under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, it is illegal to possess any part of a migratory bird, dead or alive. If you find a dead pelican, contact the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team at (206) 221-6893 or visit their Web site at http://depts.washington.edu/coasst.
Finally, don’t feed these birds, as this will only lead to further habituation of these birds to handouts from humans. It is important that these pelicans continue on their migratory route.
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I echo the no-feeding plea, hard as it is to see the starving beautiful birds. Feeding them at wharfs and piers makes them acclimated to being fed. We in Santa Barbara, CA, have had a major problem with people feeding on the pier --- the result is that the pelicans hang around the fishermen and almost inevitably get hooked, wings injured, pouches torn. Unless they're rescued by a wildlife care facility, they die a slow painful death.
It's taken a lot of effort by an enlightened bait shop owner and the city waterfront staff, as well as volunteers, to discourage what seems like kindness.
There's at least hope the fish will return to feed the pelicans and the birds will have strength to fly south to their only breeding grounds, the Channel Islands National Park. Thanks for the story; I'll post a link to it on my web site: http://pelicanlife.org
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The Bandon Western World welcomes your comments about stories, and we encourage a robust dialogue on this site. All comments must meet reasonable standards of decency and civility.
Please follow these basic rules:
- No defamatory comments about individuals or businesses.
- No deliberately false information.
- No obscenity or racially offensive language.
- No harassment, verbal abuse, threats or personal attacks.
- No information that invades another person's privacy.
- No business solicitations or charitable solicitations.
Comments that violate these standards will not be posted. Users with repeated violations may be banned from future posting.Comments will be approved throughout the day during business hours. After hours and weekend comments may not appear until the following business day. It may take a couple of hours before comments are approved.
The Bandon Western World generally does not edit comments, but we reserve the right to edit any comment that does not meet our standards.
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