Starving young pelicans

July 10th, a young pelican stranded in the Santa Cruz mountains.

The brown pelican, the smallest of the 8 pelican species, is unique in that it is a plunge diver - it hunts in flight, scanning waters for shimmering reflections of schooling fish. 

In California, they prey mostly on northern anchovy, Pacific sardine, and Pacific mackerel.
Each year, California brown pelicans migrate north from their breeding grounds in Mexico and the offshore islands of southern California.

Anacapa, one of the Channel Islands, has historically maintained the largest colony in California. The Chumash  people knew the island as 'Pi awa phew' - 'house of the pelican'.

At one time, the breeding range of the California brown pelican extended as far north as Point Lobos, near Monterey, but there has been no nesting activity on Bird Island since 1959, which, interestingly, coincided with the last significant year for the Monterey sardine fishery.

Young pelicans fledge when they are about 3-4 months old. While some remain close to home, others follow adults on their northward journey. In the last two weeks, we've seen an unusually high number of these young migrants in trouble.

Up and down the coast, hundreds of young California brown pelicans are being found, thin and weak - starving to death.

Until now, we did not believe there was a shortage of food for them, but there is, at least in the Monterey Bay.

A tired baby with its head tucked in.
Rescued by Ron Eby at Elkhorn Slough Reserve.

According to a seafood supplier in Moss Landing, there is a shortage of baitfish in local waters - there hasn’t been any volume of Northern anchovy or Pacific sardine in the region since February.

Thankfully, we're not finding any starving adult pelicans. Not yet, anyway. Perhaps they're finding fish farther out at sea.

We know pelican breeding success is directly related to the availability of food. During nesting, a reduction in their food source can force abandonment of eggs - even chicks. We also know to expect a high mortality of young, even when food is plentiful, but, for there to be nothing for them in the Monterey Bay, an important stopover, seems odd.

A young pelican found dead in a backyard in Santa Cruz, CA.

Is it climate change? Is it human-related? Should we intervene?

Wildlife biologists are still considering this mortality event a natural die-off - the culling of the weakest individuals. If so, we must respect natural selection as we risk doing a species more harm by meddling.

That said, for now, the region's wildlife hospitals are continuing to accept the young pelicans, and WildRescue continues to respond and transport those in critical need.

Below is a video of one such rescue. The pelican landed inland near a large koi pond in the Santa Cruz mountains.

The public can report ailing pelicans through our statewide hotline at 1-866-WILD-911 (1-866-945-3911). They should note if it's a juvenile or adult. Young birds can be distinguished from adult pelicans by their brown heads, white bellies, and creamy, yellow-grey legs.

To help us respond to sightings, we desperately need more volunteers in and around the Bay Area, from Monterey to San Francisco! Be on-call from home or office - click HERE for an application. Many thanks to those who have already contributed to our Pelican Aid fund, HERE.

Donate $100.00 or more and receive this beautiful 8 X 10 black and white photograph. 

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The Serpent and the Fairy Princess

Saturday afternoon, in the hills above Carmel Valley Village, a little girl was playing outside in a very shallow, dry, stone-lined channel. Perhaps she and the Fairy Princess were looking for more river rocks for the Kingdom's castle, when she was struck by a serpent - a baby rattlesnake.

The girl was rushed to a Bay Area hospital for emergency treatment.

The following morning, the snake was found sunning itself in the same area of the property. Duane and Rebecca were called to capture and remove it.


Wearing snake chaps and armed with tongs and a bug net, the duo turned stones and rustled shrubs, looking for what the residents had initially described as a two-foot long snake. It wasn't until they saw a picture of it, did they realize it was a small, young snake, more brown than grey.

It wasn't five minutes before they spotted it, cold and coiled, among dry leaves and grasses.



The snake was placed into a five gallon bucket and released in an uninhabited area of Carmel Valley. Check out the video, below.

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Another goose

Note the injury on the inside of the bird's right leg.

Today, another goose was rescued by our 'goose whisperer', Deanna.

On Fridays, after work, Deanna visits various 'hot spots' in and around Monterey, looking for infirm wildlife.

This week, at Roberts Lake, in Seaside, she found an ailing goose.Using expert skill and her very own technique that, well, can best be described as a waltz, Deanna collected the large flighted bird and transported it to the SPCA of Monterey for evaluation and treatment.

Unfortunately, we were told the leg was fractured at the joint and the goose was humanely euthanized.



  

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Bobcat kitten

This morning, we received a call about a bobcat kitten that was found walking along the side of Mount Madonna Road, near the summit. The finder, Stacey, was kind enough to stand by and keep watch until we arrived.

The kitten warmed up during transport.

On scene, the small cat was quiet and still, hunched up with its head down. It was cold, and barely responsive as Duane lifted it into a carrier. On the drive over the hill, we provided the animal with warmth, and by the time we arrived at the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley the cat was looking (and sounding) much better.




Even though it was the Fourth of July holiday, the wildlife center was full of wonderful volunteers, busily caring for the hospital's numerous patients. Dr. Chad Alves, the center's veterinarian, was also on hand and performed an initial exam while we were there.

Dr. Alves found the kitten was thin, and it had a couple of wounds and scrapes - perhaps it had survived an attack by a predator. Check out the video of the examination, below.

THANK YOU WILDLIFE CENTER OF SILICON VALLEY!!!!

UPDATE: The bobcat kitten did not make it. It died from severe starvation; it was too far gone to bring it back. Very sad. 

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Predator on the loose

There is a relatively new predator on the loose and its numbers are growing. Like members of the weasel family, it is a fearless hunter, and it is an indiscriminate killer of small birds, mammals and reptiles. This species is extremely adaptable, able to thrive in nearly all regions of the world. In North America, it is the most abundant carnivore. In 2008, it was recognized by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as the world's worst invasive introduced species.

This invasive predator is Felis catus, the domestic house cat.

As advocates for wildlife conservation, we encourage everyone to read a comprehensive package of information on the impacts of free-roaming cats, HERE.

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Ducklings trapped in a storm drain

This morning we received a report of ducklings trapped in a storm drain (again) at a shopping center in Watsonville, CA. A young girl, Kena, first noticed them in trouble.

Duane and Rebecca alerted local authorities to assist in accessing the complex of drains. Watsonville Fire Department arrived on scene first and they were able to keep all, but one duckling, confined to a catch basin.

All the while, the hen watched from a distance. Then, just as the last duckling was being rescued, she flew away. 


We set the pet carrier containing her ducklings under a nearby tree and waited a good fifteen minutes before she returned. She was standoffish, landing in a patch of shrubbery alongside busy Main Street, a good distance from the pet carrier. Her body language told us she was on edge and could take off at any moment if she didn't see or hear her babies.

Since it was a fairly quiet shopping center, we decided to set her babies where she would see them quickly, and then, once reunited, we could herd them, and the hen, to safety.

Check out the awesome video below:

MANY THANKS TO KENA FOR ALERTING US!

THANK YOU WATSONVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT!!!

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Ducklings at SFO!

A call came in to us through Peninsula Humane Society. A group of ducklings were entrapped in a large stormwater detention pond at San Francisco International Airport. They must have slipped down the steep cement embankment to the shallow water and could not make it back out.

One of our lead responders, Susan M., joined by Julie B., arrived on scene to find the hen and four ducklings in the basin.

Airfield Operations and SFO Fire were on hand and assisted with the recovery of the babies.





Normally, we would reunite the ducklings with the hen, but because of where they were located, it was safer to send the ducklings to a rehabilitation center. They are now in safe hands at the Peninsula Humane Society's Wildlife Care Center, and doing well.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO ASSISTED IN THIS RESCUE!

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