An adult Eastern Brown Pelican takes flight. Clumsy on land, graceful in the air.
Now that I’ve spent an afternoon with the bird rescue squad, I am much more focused on pelicans. I note whether they are adults or juveniles, whether they are feeding or resting, how many there are, which direction they are flying, and whether any of them show any signs of injury.
Pelicans are really quite curious-looking birds. The adult is quite colorful about the head and neck, and the bill with its characteristic pouch is quite unique. I’ve spent many an evening sitting on a jetty watching half-a-dozen pelicans making their headfirst splash-dives into sunset-tinted waters, one after the other, with their splashing and the distant sound of boat engines being the only sound to be heard above the Gulf waters lapping the rocks.
Today I photographed this pelican in Blind Pass, between Upham Beach and Treasure Island. Shortly thereafter, at this jetty which is very popular with fishermen, I discovered the juvenile pelican below, expired and decaying on a sandy spot between the rocks. In the past, I would have sadly noted its demise and moved on.
A juvenile brown pelican lies expired on the Blind Pass Jetty.
But now that I’m more educated about the hardships of being a pelican, I decided to look for clues as to what might have caused its untimely death. Since it was in the “hold-your-nose” stage of decay, I found a stick with which to disturb its rest by moving body parts around for a better look.
I didn’t have to look far to spot several inches of fishing line protruding from a wing. Turning the wing over, I spotted the culprit: a fairly heavy and long-shanked fishing hook was firmly embedded in its wing. The hook was a bit rusty, so it had likely taken several months to kill the bird, which likely died from infection.
A long-shanked fishing hook embedded in a wing was the beginning of the end for this young brown pelican.
Hope you’re not squeamish. I promise to make my next post a happier one.
