Monte et al.,

Just a bit of historical perspective. When I moved to Washington from California in 1972 the Brown Pelican was an exceptionally rare bird. In fact, I didn't finally add it to my state list for several years, when I had to run all the way down to Ilwaco in hopes of seeing some that had been reported there. However, back in the late 1800s they apparently could be quite common, though by the 1950s Jewett et al. (1953) considered them a "casual fall and winter visitant along the coast...." (pg. 79). It seems likely that DDT was a primary cause in their demise. They have made an extraordinary comeback. Proves we can do something about the messes we have made.

As is often the case with post-breeding movements such as that of the Brown Pelican, immature birds tend to travel further while the more experienced adults, presumably, monopolize feeding grounds closer to the nesting areas, so immatures have always predominated in Washington in my experience.

Gene Hunn
18476 47th Pl. NE
Lake Washington Park, WA 98155
enhunn323 at comcast.net

----- Original Message -----
From: monte merrick
To: Bruce Moorhead
Cc: Tom Aversa ; Tweeters ; Bob Boekelheide
Sent: Sunday, September 30, 2007 1:00 PM
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Re: More immature Brown Pelicans along OlympicPeninsula outer coast


oh yeah ---

an old timer here in the snn juans told me that bropwn pelicans used to be a regular summer feature of puget sound - i guess its that business about being endangered that a sighting nowadays is noteworthy.... well maybe global warming will bring themmand the palm tress north - a small consolation sure but still consoling.


mm


If I have unjustly wrested a plank from a drowning man, I must restore it to
him though I drown myself. - henry thoreau

On 30 Sep 2007, , at 11:16, Bruce Moorhead wrote:


Thanks, Rolan, interesting. I wonder how many pelicans are known to be breeding now in the Willapa-to-Columbia River vicinity? Has a familiar ring to it: just as we've had Caspian Terns increasing significantly up this way at Dungeness NWR in the past few years, after we noticing more and more of them appearing along the outer Olympic coast for a number of years before that. So I wonder if we aren't also perhaps seeing a rather rapidly growing, young pelican population now learning its way north up the coast. But so far it may only be a sizable fall post-fledging dispersal from a growing pelican population to the south. And evidence too perhaps of a pretty good offshore food supply up here this year. Or just La Nino, etc. Bruce


----- Original Message -----

From: Rolan Nelson
To: Bruce Moorhead ; Tweeters
Cc: Tom Aversa ; Bob Boekelheide
Sent: Saturday, September 29, 2007 11:26 PM
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Immature Brown Pelicans at Hoh River mouth

Greetings Bruce and Tweeters,

On Friday, John English and I were at Bowerman Basin and Ocean Shores in the morning and early afternoon. From the Hoq. Sewer Pond to the Jetty and back to the west side of the Game Range we saw somewhere in the vicinity of 600 Brown Pelicans, and, like Bruce, I would estimate that 2/3 to 3/4 of them were juveniles. I can't ever remember seeing so many pelicans in one place before.

-Rolan


Bruce Moorhead <bruceb at olypen.com> wrote:

On Wed., Sept. 26, while camping at Kalaloch along the outer coast of Olympic N.P. , I counted at least 150 Brown Pelicans fishing just offshore. The next day, about 10 linear miles to the north, I drove down to the Hoh River mouth on the south side of the river, within the Hoh Reservation, and found about 400-500 pelicans resting just inside the river mouth. Most (about 350) were rafting on a widening of the river along the east side of the beach strand that forms the south arm of the river mouth. The remainder were perched along the beach and on driftlogs that line the north side of the river mouth. What seemed particularly interesting to me was that most of the pelicans--at least 300 for sure--were immatures, which was rather easy to confirm with binocs by the relative absence of more readily apparent white-headed, adult birds as you scanned (and counted) across the gathered birds. Based on the beach characteristics and relative proximity to the Hoh Road here, I don't think this is a likely breeding site now or in the near future, and more likely just a good resting or staging area along this part of the coast. But I hadn't realized before that so many young pelicans are obviously moving this far north now.


Bruce Moorhead

Port Angeles, WA

bruceb at olypen.com



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Rolan Nelson
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