SPRING IS HERE - THE RETURN OF THE PELICANS

By Debbie Bulloch






With the official start of Spring, life seems to be getting a bit sweeter in Southern California. Gone are the storm clouds that had been shrouding the Southland with a dark, cold and gloomy cover.



The last few days, Southern Californians have been basking in the warm rays of a glorious Sun. Warm days and clear skies are back - the promise of a fun Summer beckons tantalizingly ahead.

With the return of warm, sunny days, a small miracle has taken place in Southern California. If you recall, I have written several articles about the damage that the recent storms caused to the population of California’s brown pelican. Following the storms, sick or dying pelicans began to wash ashore. There were reports of very sick pelicans flying inland searching for food. Pelican rehabilitation centers were filled with sick birds in need of rescue.

Scientists were baffled by the sudden and pervasive pelican die off. While they looked for clues to explain the pelicans’ deaths, the birds continued to die in large numbers.

In the weeks following the storms, I saw the bodies of dead pelicans along the bike trails that I normally ride. The skies above the beach, which were usually filled with dozens of pelicans flying in formation like ancient Pterodactyls, were empty of the birds. In the lagoon at the mouth of the Ventura River, home for a large group of brown pelicans, there were only a few pelicans swimming with the other birds.





Then last Sunday I went for my usual bike ride on by the beach on Pacific Coast Highway. As I rounded a corned and faced the ocean, a wonderful sight greeted my eyes. Flying in circles above the water was a whole bunch of brown pelicans.

When I took a closer look, I saw the reason for the pelicans’ sudden appearance. Swimming near the water’s surface there must have been a school of fish. The pelicans flew in big circles over the school of fish, then dove into the water to pick up a fish and then returned to air to get back in line. Watching the pelicans fly over the school of fish was like watching people waiting at a sushi super buffet line.






After a cold, wet winter when the storms almost killed off the pelicans, it was good to see that Mother Nature still cares and protects its critters.

Thanks Mom!