A long-awaited flight

The L-shaped bundle was giving Kelly Beavers trouble as she maneuvered it carefully toward a plastic crate in the lab at the Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach.

A pair of webbed feet began kicking under the white sheet that she cradled in her arms. A long beak, which Beavers gripped tightly with one hand, thrashed about as well. Looking around the crates, which had been manufactured for dogs but were housing pelicans Tuesday afternoon, she opted for one that was small enough to hold a single, hot-tempered bird.

“I want to put her in there, because she’s got an issue,” said Beavers, a wildlife technician at the center.

With the bird still fidgeting, Beavers eased it inside, then pulled off the sheet that had covered nearly its entire body and prevented it from seeing any of the humans present. An instant later, she locked the crate and draped the sheet over it. The 12 pelicans and one cormorant that were set to be released Tuesday in Corona del Mar had arrived at the center sick and starving, and the staff had spent the last two to three weeks nursing them back to health. Still, Beavers said, that didn’t quell the birds’ fear of people.

“We’re considered predators toward them,” she said. “Every time they see us, they freak out. Notice, our eyes are on the front and theirs are not. To them, we’re predators and they’re prey.”

In this case, though, nothing could be further from the truth. With an epidemic of sick sea birds across the West Coast, centers like the one on Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach have been working since the start of the year to feed and rehabilitate the birds before returning them to the wild. Tuesday afternoon, it was time for 13 more to fly home.

An unexplained problem

Brown pelicans, which the federal government took off the endangered species list in November, have been a common — and alarming — sight along the coast since the start of January.

Centers across California and as far north as Oregon have been inundated with birds, often brought in by local animal control agencies, that are starving, injured or otherwise in need of treatment. Researchers have several theories about the cause of the problem. Duane Tom, the director of animal care at the California Wildlife Center in Malibu, said the recent storms on the West Coast may have caused oil runoff into the ocean, which made the pelicans sick.

Roy Lowe, the project leader for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex, said some people believe the birds delayed their annual fall migration from Oregon to California due to an abundance of fish in the water, then got hit by winter storms flying south. He said, though, that the theory couldn’t be proven, because it was impossible to tell if the birds came from Oregon or elsewhere.

Last year, care centers also dealt with an influx of pelicans, which had been hit by frostbite returning home through the snow. Lowe had no prediction for the future.

“We’ll stay tuned for next year to see what happens,” Lowe said. “Will the birds stay late [in Oregon], or was this a short-term phenomenon?”

Caring for tough birds

The Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center has treated more than 100 pelicans since the start of January. Technicians put colored bands around the birds’ legs to tell them apart; before releasing them, they replace the bands with metal ones so the federal government can track them. Each pelican spends an average of two to three weeks at the center receiving food, heat and sometimes surgery.

Most of the center’s staff are volunteers who work on their own time to rehabilitate animals. But the pelicans, which are aggressive by nature, don’t always show their appreciation.

Cheryl Egger, a volunteer shift supervisor, said she and her colleagues try to keep their faces at least four feet away from the pelicans to avoid being pecked — which can draw blood. When it’s meal time, staff members back up to the pelicans’ cages and set the plates down through their legs.

Some pelicans had arrived at the center after residents found them roaming city streets, Egger said. But she urged people not to mistake them for domesticated animals.

“If the people feed them, it’s a really bad situation, because then the pelicans think they’re a food source,” Egger said. “It’s dangerous for people, and it’s dangerous for the birds, too.”

Fly away home

The staff at the center is used to doing unpleasant work. And on days like Tuesday, they get their reward.

With 13 birds settled begrudgingly in their crates, Beavers, Egger and a group of colleagues packed them into vans and drove them to Corona del Mar Main Beach. The staff lined up seven sheet-covered crates facing the ocean, waited for Beavers to count to three, then unlocked the crates and pulled the sheets off.

A crowd of two dozen onlookers peered curiously as, one by one, the pelicans waddled out onto the sand, spread their wings and sailed over the ocean. Soon, all the pelicans were floating together in a tight circle in the water — “They’re real social,” Beavers explained to the crowd — except for one that remained on the shore.

Looking befuddled, it glanced around at the tide, the swimmers, the sailboats and the strangers with cameras around it.

After nearly 10 minutes, the bird ruffled its feathers and took off, while the crowd applauded and snapped photos.

Egger, who had dozens more pelicans waiting for her back at the center, said the moment of release was always worth it.

“It’s a great feeling,” she said as she stepped into her car. “You can ask anyone at the center. It’s the best.”

How To Help

The Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center needs funds to continue feeding and treating pelicans and other sea birds. To donate, send checks to 21900 Pacific Coast Hwy., Huntington Beach, 92646 or visit www.wwccoc.org.