The California Brown Pelican
Overview and History
The Brown Pelican is the hero in its own real conservation success story! They were listed as a federally endangered species in 1970, endangered in California in 1971. They reached a low of just 466 nests in 19787. Amazingly they recovered and were delisted again in 20095. Today there are estimated to be over 70,680 nesting pairs in California1. Fortunately for them, they remain protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.5
![pelicans on the water and on rocks](https://64.media.tumblr.com/05adf63d636d0a540c0b4f8c51948f1e/b4d5fab7bc1524fd-43/s500x750/db982c51147462e7824de36db9623a2c66f93f33.png)
The reason for this dramatic decline in this magnificent bird can be attributed primarily to the pesticide DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) flowing from mainland sewers into the ocean5,3. This dangerous chemical disrupts the reproductive system of birds, altering their calcium metabolism and resulting in egg shells so thin that they break under the weight of the adult bird when they sit on them5.
DDT was developed in the 1940s as the first of modern synthetic insecticides designed to combat insect-borne human diseases such as Malaria and Typhus6. Due in part to the public outcry from Rachel Carson’s successful early science communication “The Silent Spring” in 1962, DDT was banned by the EPA in 19726. A move now supported by the UN and the WHO6. Worldwide DDT is still used in indoor settings to control the spread of malaria mosquitos, even though DDT has been classified as a human carcinogen.6
Pelicans can live up to forty years old!5 This means that there are probably pelicans alive today that remember when their nests failed and there were a lot less pelicans!
Identification and Appearance
Pelicans are easily identified by their large resplendent beak and stretchy beak pouch that they use as a basket to scoop up prey from the water. They have cute dumpy angular bodies and four webbed toes on their gray-brown legs.4
![flock of brown pelicans on rocks](https://64.media.tumblr.com/61f67b29b226d584cff4be78995732ea/b4d5fab7bc1524fd-67/s500x750/60f184a3462111c25a7f6f60020a91942a1076f7.jpg)
The earliest fossil record is 30million years old and was found in France. The beak structure and overall morphology of this early Pelican was almost identical to todays bird!3
![fossil](https://64.media.tumblr.com/21285f8fbad2204395e1554229c800bf/b4d5fab7bc1524fd-bf/s500x750/5324f43ac2a3d3208c57b1536ad14e7392bb135c.png)
Brown pelicans have a glossy gray to hazelnut brown plumage on their bodies and adults (over 3 years old)3 have white feathers on their necks and bellies. The beak pouch is a pinkish orange. Males and Females look very similar with males being a little larger5 and the male head feathers being stiffer.3
During their breeding season, while they are attempting to woo another pelican; their beak turns pink3. Later in the breeding season the beak resorts back to gray,3 plumage on their heads turns yellow and their beak pouch a deep red. Even the iris of their eyes turns from Yellow-white to a light blue!5
![pelican with breeding plumage](https://64.media.tumblr.com/2176bfad63500fee9ed2960a124001c3/b4d5fab7bc1524fd-02/s500x750/1b2acc34906f85734cbfc863d6955cd427471096.jpg)
There are 5 subspecies3 of Brown Pelican, these look very similar with slight differences in breeding plumage5. Even though they look alike, the subspecies are genetically distinct.3
Brown Pelicans weigh about 8lb (similar to a heavy human baby at birth). They are a little over 4ft in length (just over the height of my grandmother) their wingspan can be up to 6.5ft! (The size of a tall human)5
Range
Brown Pelicans have a wide range throughout coastal north and Central America, with the occasional juvenile wandering inland a little lost.
However, the range of the California subspecies of the brown pelican is permanently in the coastal marine waters of the pacific, from British Columbia to Nayarit in Mexico5 and sometimes even Guatemala.3
![range map](https://64.media.tumblr.com/cbc6e557c63eaea4dafc6bcaf59145f7/b4d5fab7bc1524fd-c3/s500x750/bb83e4807eaeba6909929c597e29523e987c3fc1.png)
Habitat
California brown pelicans are big fans of the ocean, they can often be seen flying over it or sitting on it. They also enjoy hanging out on rocks.1,2
You usually won’t find Brown Pelicans more than 5 miles from the coast (either inland or on the ocean)3; but incredibly, they can travel a distance of 30-40 miles if they feel like it!5,1 There is however, a large group of Brown Pelicans who have decided the Salton Sea inland lake in California is actually a pretty nice place to hang.4
A great place to see them locally in El Granada is kayaking out of the Half Moon Bay Kayak company past the rocky harbor walls where (depending on time of day or tides or just sheer luck) they will be gathering in the dozens.
Feeding
A pelican’s beak can hold over 3 gallons of water.5 Though obviously they would prefer it was 3 gallons of fish! They have the largest beak pouch of any bird worldwide.5
Brown Pelicans were the only pelican to do dive/plunge feeding5 until the Peruvian subspecies was declared a separate species3.
Around our area you’ll find White Pelicans inland and Brown Pelicans on the coast. I’ve personally not seen many areas with both brown and White Pelicans except estuaries like Moss Landing.
They are champion divers and catch the majority of their prey by diving from a great height. Although on average these dives are usually between 10 and 30 ft, they can in-fact, dive from a height of 100ft5 which is over seven building stories high!
The deeper the prey, the higher they dive. A dive from these astonishing heights can reach and stun fish 6ft deep.5 They even have their own padding, air sacs5 in their bodies to protect them from this sudden impact with the ocean. These portable cushions are also great for helping them float!3
Another way they catch food is to sit on the water watching for the tell-tale shimmer of their favorite snacks and doing almost a little hoppy dive to catch them.5
Once a tasty mouthful of fishy water has been obtained, the pelican leans forward to filter out the water from its pouch. It then flicks it’s head backwards to swallow the fish.5,1 Pelicans can eat 4lb of fish a day!5 They can also process any extra salt water they swallow using specialized glands.3
Favorite foods of the California Brown Pelican are the Northern Anchovy, the Pacific Sardine and the Pacific Mackerel5. They also often eat Crustaceans, and Smelt.1,3 They even occasionally eat Amphibians, eggs and nestlings of rival species and other pelicans.3 Scientists estimate that in Southern California Pelicans eat 1% of the total anchovy biomass!5,1
One major threat to the Brown Pelican is the effect of overfishing, particularly of sardines, and the disturbances in the food chain due to climate change.3 So next time someone offers you a sardine, say no and save a pelican!
Behavior
The Brown Pelican is an outgoing sociable creature and is happiest when chilling in mixed flocks.3 A common sight off the coast is a squadron of Brown Pelicans flying and gliding in single file or in a perfect V shape, often really close to the water’s surface or using updrafts, but they can also fly up to 70ft high to keep a beady lookout for a tasty moursal.5,2,3,4
You can also find pelicans sitting in often very large groups on the surface of the ocean near to shore. They seem to be flapping their wings on the water, local speculation on this behavior includes “shaking off parasites”. The effect however, of a number of pelicans flip flapping on the water may be a similar technique to that of dolphins and bubble feeding, to corral fish together to make scooping them up for dinner easier.3
Pelicans are pretty smart though, and will sometimes approach fisherfolk for handouts to save the effort of catching their dinner themselves.1,2
Monogamous for the breeding season, the Brown Pelican likes to keep its options open and doesn’t mate for life.3 The male finds a nice spot for a nest and waggles it’s head elaborately to attract a female. Ladies choose their mates based on this display and their choice of real estate.3 To indicate her approval, she will engage in a dance with the male, of head bowing and swaying and whispering sweet nothings in the form of low “raaa” noises.3
When the California Brown Pelican isn’t breeding, they can migrate north as far up as British Columbia. Some of the more inexperienced juveniles will get lost and wander inland. Particularly in south California and Mexico.1
Nesting and reproduction
The only breeding colonies of California Brown Pelicans in the western United States are in Channel Islands National Park, on West Anacapa island and now also the Santa Barbara Island (since 1975).5 However, 90% of California Brown Pelicans breed off the coast of Mexico.5
![map of channel islands](https://64.media.tumblr.com/4abf6e6e69d05255e6aae4bc10462bb7/b4d5fab7bc1524fd-f3/s500x750/30d2837be43a802edbc01e416afe8ebe0aeedfe0.png)
Brown Pelicans currently breed between January & October with most eggs being laid in March. They have one brood1,3. Historically their breeding season was much shorter, March to early fall5. I’m wondering if this change has to do with the increase in pelican population. I would imagine that if there are a lot less pelicans it would make sense to time your nesting season to be shorter to make sure everyone was in the right place at the right time.
The nests are in breeding colonies on islands unpopulated by sneaky mammal predators and in places where humans don’t live permanently5,4. Pelicans build large nests (because they themselves are large birds) on the ground or in vegetation or trees.5,3 Nests are built by the lady pelican with material gathered by their partner.1
The nests themselves can be quite varied, depending on where they build them and how much effort they can be bothered to put in. They range from a simple scrape in the soil, to a heap of debris with a depression on the top or a large elaborate stick nest in a tree.1
Adults share incubation eggs of the 2-3 oval eggs that they lay.5,3,1 Incubation takes about 28-30 days3, over which time the bright chalky white eggs become stained the color of the nest.1
Not many animals can stomach eating an adult pelican, Bald Eagles, Sea Lions and Sharks being the exception.3 Eggs and babies however are a common snack food of many creatures, including gulls, dogs, raccoons and even bobcats.3
The success of the brood depends on the availability of their primary food source during the breeding season: northern anchovies (Engraulis mordax) and Pacific sardines (Sagax sarinops)5. Coastal upwelling of cool nutrient rich water near the Channel Islands is essential for these prey animals to thrive. I speculate that another reason their breeding duration could have changed could be related to climate change / human fishing impact on Anchovies and Sardines.
Pelicans are very sensitive to being bothered by people when they are nesting, including lights and noise. In 1999, a large increase in nighttime squid fishing boats seemed to affect a higher rate of nest abandonment and chick mortality than average; these numbers couldn’t be explained by any other environmental factor.5
Baby pelicans are pink3 naked, helpless and completely dependent on their parents for feeding and care for the first 3-4 weeks of their lives.5
At around 5 weeks old, now gray-black in color;3 the baby birds in ground colonies grow into rowdy teenagers, sneaking out of their nests to gather in groups (known as pods3) while their parents are out looking for food1. When the parents return they can recognise their own young.1 Tree nests being a little more hazardous, the babies tend to stay in the nests for up to 9 weeks before exploring the outside world and discovering branches.1
They fledge at around 9-13 weeks5,1, although just like humans taking laundry home to their parents from university, the parents continue to feed the babies for some time once they fledge (8-10 months).1,3
Fledglings are more likely to survive if they are the oldest child, the average rate of success based on who hatched first drops from 100% to 6% by the third chick3. It is a mammoth mission to figure out feeding themselves so they rely a lot on their reserves initially.5 The chicks that do make it, grow up to be the glorious bird we all know and love.
Fun facts!
- They have the largest beak of any bird in the world! It can hold 3 gallons.
- 90% of California Brown Pelicans breed in Mexico.
- The only breeding colonies in the United States of California Brown Pelicans are in the Channel Islands.
- They can live up to 40 years old.
- They can dive from up to 100ft (7stories high) and stun fish 6ft deep.
Sources
- Audubon https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/brown-pelican
- EBird https://ebird.org/species/brnpel
- Wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_pelican and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelican
- All about birds https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_Pelican/id
- National park service https://www.nps.gov/chis/learn/nature/brown-pelican.htm
- EPA history of DDT https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/ddt-brief-history-and-status
- Moss Landing Marine Labs https://twitter.com/mlmlmarinesci/status/1493651506473869313?s=21
- Esasuccess.org https://www.esasuccess.org/birds.shtml
Image sources
- Pelicans in Pillar Point harbour source: Natalie Downe
- Pelican ID images source: Simon Willison
- Range map source iNaturalist
- Channel islands map
Essay written by Natalie Downe as an assignment for the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve Docent/Guide class.