PROVINCETOWN —
It’s been a busy week
for the bird doctors at Wild Care, the Outer Cape’s wildlife rehabilitation
clinic, where a number of new patients are being treated for injuries sustained
as a result of Hurricane Sandy.
On Saturday, Wild Care
director Stephanie Ellis and volunteer Josh Drew retrieved a young brown
pelican from the beach at Sheep’s Pond in Brewster. The pelican was placed in a
crib in a corner of the wildlife hospital, warmed with a heat lamp and given
medicine to treat respiratory problems. Volunteers have been feeding him
mackerel and herring to fatten him up.
A denizen of southern
latitudes and a rarity on the Cape, the big-billed seabird was reportedly
“begging for handouts” from local fishermen before he was rescued, Ellis said.
It’s suspected that he was blown off-course during last week’s storm.
“He is doing OK. He is
brighter, perkier than he was before. And he is eating like a pelican should,”
Ellis said on Monday. But she added that his condition remains critical.
The bird was due for an
X-ray on Monday afternoon at Eastham Veterinary Clinic to determine if he had
any broken bones or internal injuries.
Wild Care is also
treating a young northern gannet found on a local beach. Gannets are diving
seabirds that seldom stray over land.
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