"Scores Of Starving Brown Pelicans Found On Southern California Beaches"

"Scores of emaciated brown pelicans, too weak to fly, have been found on Southern California beaches in the last month and taken to an Orange County rescue center, according to its director.

“We’re getting dozens of calls,” Debbie McGuire, executive director of the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach, said on Saturday. “People are finding them in parking lots and their backyards.”

The rescued pelicans, she said, “are coming in at half their body weight. They are also very anemic.”

So far, she said, it’s unclear why the pelicans, which feed on anchovies, sardines and mackerel, are suffering from malnutrition."

Melody Petersen reports for the Los Angeles Times May 4, 2024.