A pelican in Nova Scotia? Unusual birds blown into Cape Breton by Dorian

Some rare birds have found their way to the Maritimes after Dorian blew them off course.

Alexandra Mae Jones, CTVNews.ca writer

Published Tuesday, September 17, 2019 11:08PM EDT

After a storm as big as Dorian, residents in Cape Breton probably expected to find a few strange things that had been blown in by the winds. But a pelican?

A large brown bird has been spotted strutting around Glace Bay wharf this past week, far from its usual tropical waters. Experts say the bird was probably as surprised to find itself in Atlantic Canada as the residents of Cape Breton were to see it -- it's thought that the bird was blown off course.

The eye-catching bird has become a sensation in the area.

 “There’s been people coming here from as far as East Bay to take photos,” resident Dylan Yates told CTV News Atlantic. “It’s just not something you see every day.”

Jeannie Fraser snapped more than one photo of the bird, saying it was “pretty exciting to see, in spite of the fact that it shouldn’t have been here.”

If the pelican wasn’t actually aiming to set up camp in a Nova Scotia harbor, where was it aiming to go?

David McCorquodale, a biology professor at Cape Breton University and an avid bird watcher, said that the pelican was blown from the coast of the southern U.S., confirming that the storm was at fault for the bird’s massive displacement.

And the pelican wasn’t the only bird whose flight plan went through a drastic change due to storm winds.

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Man sparks outrage after posting footage of him attacking a federally protected pelican - which could see him charged with animal cruelty

Hunter Hardesty appeared to attack a federally protected pelican in Key West

Hardesty posted footage on his Facebook page with many condemning him

He jumps into water on top of the pelican and is seen holding him and laughing

The pelican then snaps at his face, manages to break free and then flies away

The Davidsonville, Maryland man could now face animal cruelty charges

By LEAH MCDONALD FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 13:51, 10 March 2019 | UPDATED: 21:52, 10 March 2019

A man could be charged after a video showed him attacking a protected pelican in Key West, Florida. 

Hunter Hardesty from Davidsonville, Maryland posted footage on his Facebook page with many people condemning him for his actions. 

The video, posted on March 7,  starts and shows Hardesty appearing to lean over a harbor’s edge holding out something in his hand. 

The pelican floats closer and Hardesty appears to jump into the water on top of the pelican, causing both to sink beneath the water’s surface.

Hardesty then grabs the large bird with two hands while others not pictured on camera can be heard laughing.

 A woman in the background tells him: 'If you don't get out of there right now I'm going to call security. Knock this party off right now.'

The bird appears visibly distressed and as Hardesty holds on to him, as his friends laugh from a jetty.

The pelican then snaps at the man with is beak before flying off to another area.  

Social media users Many blasted at the stunt on Hardesty’s Facebook page, branding it cruel and stating they had reported him to Florida law enforcement.

A post from Hardesty on Friday read:  'The book blowin up on a Friday !! Sheesh.'

Dennis John Deevy Jr wrote:  'We need to get a petition to have this MF charged.'

Read on

'Lost' Aussie pelican a hit in the Philippines

14 Sep 2016 at 15:45

WRITER: AFP 

GENERAL SANTOS, PHILIPPINES - An Australian pelican that strayed hundreds of kilometres from its nearest known habitat to end up in the Philippines is the first such bird to be seen in the Asian archipelago, wildlife enthusiasts said.

This Australian pelican, which strayed hundreds of kilometres from its nearest known habitat to end up in the Philippines, is the first such bird to be seen in the Asian archipelago.

The waterbird flew into a fish breeding farm on the outskirts of the southern port of General Santos in early September, resident Levy Discamento told AFP.

"We saw a small flock of swallows chasing this big strange bird. There was an air battle until the big bird gave up and ran toward the mangroves," Discamento said, recounting his first sighting.

The mostly white pelican -- a species which boasts the longest bill of any bird, measuring up to 47 centimetres -- has since attracted a flood of Filipino and foreign birdwatchers.

They rent dugouts to watch and photograph the bird while it gorges on fish in nearby Sarangani Bay, Discamento said.

"We feel (it) is a blessing, bringing good vibes to people," Jimmy Poja, a local fisherman, told AFP.

Willem van de Ven, a Manila-based biologist and president of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines, said the species is found all over Australia and occasionally as far as New Zealand, some Polynesian islands, New Guinea, and parts of Indonesia.

Read on 

'Sea hating' rare pelican and vulture could stay in UK

Two extremely rare birds which were blown across to the UK due to prolonged wind currents could remain in the country due to their dislike of sea crossings, experts have said.

A Dalmatian pelican which has been spotted in Cornwall had not been seen in the country for hundreds of years.

Meanwhile, a bearded vulture has been seen in Wales, Devon and Cornwall.

Experts said the birds, which are both "major rarities" had arrived in the UK on prolonged south easterly airflows.

The species are more commonly found across south eastern Europe, India and China.

Paul Freestone, from the Cornwall Birding website, said thousands of birdwatchers had travelled from across the country to try to see the birds.

"It's completely unprecedented to have two major rarities in the South West," Mr Freestone said.

'Reached end of the land'

Paul Stancliffe, from the British Trust for Ornithology, said both birds were first seen in other parts of Europe, with the pelican seen in Poland and vulture reported in Belgium before they arrived in the UK.

Mr Stancliffe said both birds, which are currently in Cornwall, "don't like sea crossings" so it was "possible" for them to remain in the UK for the foreseeable future.

The pelican was first seen on 9 May in West Cornwall and the vulture was first photographed close to the second Seven Crossing on 12 May.

The Met Office said that since the beginning of May south easterly winds had been regular across central and southern Europe.

Source … 

Pelican injured in suspected cruelty attack

June 11, 2014, 9:30 a.m.

*** Please note some readers might find the photographs below distressing***

Volunteers from Australian Seabird Rescue (ASR) were left to pick up the pieces after a pelican was seriously injured in an alleged cruelty incident at the weekend.

On Tuesday about 3pm the group received a call about a pelican in distress at Preddys Wharf, Moruya.

The bird apparently had a broken wing.

As no ASR members were in the area, Peter West, a former member, was asked to help.

Mr West caught the bird and upon examination found the tip of its left wing broken clean off and another break closer to the shoulder.

The bird also had major bruising to the top beak.

Mr West said he took the bird to a Moruya vet where the decision was made to put it down.

"After many years dealing with injured seabirds I know that these injuries are consistent with boat or jet ski strike," Mr West said.

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Pouch healed, Pink the pelican released back into the wild

By Donna Littlejohn, The Daily Breeze

POSTED: 06/03/14, 3:45 PM PDT | UPDATED: 8 HRS AGO

Once near death from one of the worst bird cruelty cases some rehab workers had seen, Pink the pelican wasted no time Tuesday when his cage door was opened on the rocky San Pedro coastline.

Pink the pelican takes flight in San Pedro on Tuesday, 

June 3, 2014. The International Bird Rescue center

 repaired the bird’s slashed pouch in a series of 

surgeries. (Photo by Brad Graverson/Torrance

 Daily Breeze) 

Taking a few steps, his wings quickly spanned out as he took to the blue sky. He soared gracefully over the ocean as onlookers applauded, landing to perch on a rocky jetty just offshore with a flock of other birds.

Those who repaired the damage had wondered if they’d ever see this day after Pink — named for the band color they put on him — was brought in on April 16.

“He’s a very tenacious bird,” said Andrew Harmon of the International Bird Rescue Center in San Pedro, where the California brown pelican underwent two surgeries and required more than 600 stitches to repair his pouch that someone sliced open. A $20,000 reward remains outstanding in the case.

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CRUELTY TO BIRDS: Reward offered in mutilation of pelican

Posted: Apr 22, 2014 8:09 PM GDTUpdated: Apr 22, 2014 9:25 PM GDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A bird rescue organization says a pelican found with its pouch slashed will undergo surgery in Southern California.

The International Bird Rescue says authorities have offered a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who mutilated the California brown pelican.

The wounded bird was found April 16 near Bayshore Park in Long Beach.

read on

Pelican Learns To Fly With GoPro Strapped To Beak

In the popular YouTube genre of strapping GoPro cameras to animals, some videos soar more than others. For example, the viral footage of the bald eagle flying high above the mountains of Chamonix, France comes to mind.

Well, ladies and gentleman, add another one to this genre’s hall of fame. In fact, I think this great white pelican with a GoPro strapped to its beak may have just knocked the eagle off its perch.

Read on

County Worker Finds Big Bird Trapped In Thicket

MCLENNAN COUNTY (February 8, 2013)—Norman Manning, a McLennan County Road and Bridge Department employee, was replacing a missing road sign Friday just outside of Waco when he heard noises coming from the brush behind him that he at first thought were coming from a dog.

But what he found when he went to investigate was a big bird that was trying to flap its wings in a dense thicket near the intersection of Boys Ranch Road and Old Mexia Road.

Fearing that the bird was trapped, he called the dispatch office, which in turn contacted the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

About an hour later parks and wildlife workers arrived and managed to capture the American white pelican, one of the largest native birds in the U.S., which can have a wingspan of as much as 120 inches, can weigh as much as 30 pounds and can have a length of as much as 70 inches thanks in part to its huge beak.

The bird did not appear to be injured, but the parks and wildlife workers planned to check it out before taking it to Lake Waco, where other pelicans have been spotted.

The American white pelican typically nests in colonies in remote brackish and freshwater lakes, the Texas Bird Breeding Atlas says.

They’ve been found as far north as the Northwest Territories and about 20 percent of them use an island in Great Salt Lake as a nesting ground, but isolated breeding populations have been identified in Texas, which may be home to the only non-migratory population in the U.S. the atlas says.

As many as 20 to 30 of the birds have been spotted in the Lake Waco area, according to one report.

(Photo by Nichole Perez)

Video:  http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/County-Worker-Finds-Big-Bird-Trapped-In-Ticket-190413371.html

Rare birds blown to Cape shores by Hurricane Sandy

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.

Read more: Rare birds blown to Cape shores by Hurricane Sandy - - Wicked Local Provincetown http://www.wickedlocal.com/provincetown/news/x481717042/Rare-birds-blown-to-Cape-shores-by-Hurricane-Sandy#ixzz2Buykicka