pelicans

So much crazy political news these days. And crazy weather. Sheesh.

So, I choose the weather.

Pelicans in Peril

from the Port-Isabel-South Padre Press

Another cold front hit the area this week, bringing with it potentially life threatening conditions for the Laguna Madre’s brown pelican populations. But, unlike the winter of 2016, where over 70 of the birds were killed by passing motorists on Highway 48, this winter has seen hundreds of the animals saved thanks to the response of numerous local volunteers and law enforcement. 

Tuesday’s cold front marked the second big pelican event in the area, thanks to the strong winds that accompanied the precipitous dip in temperatures. And, as was the case with the last event, at the beginning of December, the pelican team came to the rescue.  It was last year’s massacre of so many birds which prompted the formation of the group, which soon found partners with local, county and even state agencies concerned with saving the pelicans. 

“It started last winter. We heard about a bunch of pelicans down in the road. We heard about a couple of injured ones,” said Harlingen resident Justin LeClaire as the winter wind howled around him on the eastern shoulder of Highway 48 late Tuesday afternoon. “We came down for the injured ones and saw the slaughter… ever since, I’ve tried to be as a big a part of it as I can be,” he said. 

LeClaire is a wildlife biologist and has helped to spearhead rescue efforts anytime a cold front threatens to down the unwieldy birds on the busy highway. Another volunteer, Brownsville resident Renee Lockett, came to help out as soon as she could get off of work. “I have a passion for birds, especially pelicans. When I was out here the day after over 70 were killed in one night, it broke my heart and realized we need to make a change,” Lockett said. “We need to help resolve this problem for the sake of our wildlife,” she said. 

Volunteers began arriving to the stretch of highway over Gayman Channel at approximately 2 p.m. It’s in the afternoon hours when the birds begin to seek out their nightly roosting sites on the small islands which dot the Bahia Grande that the danger begins. 

They attempt to fly from the food-rich waters of the Laguna Madre, westwards towards the Bahia. Along the way, the encounter a strong north crosswind that makes it difficult for the large-bodied birds — which are more adept at gliding than the precise flying of other birds, such as raptors — to remain aloft. 

Compounding the issue is the unique situation which occurs once the birds float over the wide, four-lane highway and its high volume of commuters travelling at 75 mph. The solid, 4-foot tall concrete jersey barriers meant to kept motorists safe create powerful downdrafts that suck the lift from beneath a pelican’s wings. Essentially, it’s like they hit an invisible wall causing them to plummet to the asphalt. 

“They definitely need a running start. And there’s kind of a void of airflow in between the barriers…. So they don’t have enough air to get picked back up,” said Stephanie Bilodeau, a coastal bird conservation biologist with the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program. Bilodeau was helping to collect samples from the rescued birds, but said she would have been out helping to save them, regardless. 

Though Highway 48 has been around for decades, it wasn’t until recently that these pelican mortality events began to occur. Bilodeau hypothesized that may be related to the fairly recent restoration of the Bahia Grande. 

When the Brownsville Ship Channel and Highway 48 were first established, the Bahia’s inflow of fresh seawater was cut off. It remained that way for decades. Over time, the salt lagoon dried up and became an inhospitable place for shorebirds such as pelicans. But, after the flow was restored via a pilot channel, the area once again became inviting habitat for the once-endangered species. 

“When there wasn’t any water over there, pelicans weren’t going over there to roost because there weren’t islands. They’re roosting on the islands in the Bahia,” Bilodeau said. The bird’s recovering population also means there are more birds around to face the highway’s wintertime gauntlet. 

But the volunteers were seeing far fewer birds than last month’s event, where more than 200 were plucked from the highway and taken to safety. As the sun began to set behind a thick blanket of clouds Tuesday, approximately 40-50 of the birds had needed help. 

“It’s a very significant event still. A lot of birds would have died without us here,” LeClaire said. He and the other rescuers credited the heavy law enforcement presence with reducing the number of pelican fatalities. Only two birds had been reported dead. 

As the winds continued to bite, trucks belonging to the Cameron County Emergency Response department, Port Isabel Code Enforcement, Texas Game Wardens and others could be seen pacing the traffic back and forth, over and over again, keeping commuters to around 20-30 mph as they passed the most critical spot of highway near the channel. 

In some instances, law enforcement would bring traffic to a total standstill as volunteers clad in high visibility vests rushed onto the roadway to save an errant pelican. 

“We’re just very grateful to law enforcement, to the volunteers, to the public for being willing to slow down and allow us to save pelicans,” Lockett said.  “It’s just amazing, once people realize what’s going on, how much help is given,” LeClaire said. 

Local wildlife photographer Richard Moore, who first began bringing attention to the issue about six years ago and has continued to document subsequent events, commented, as well. “I think that the word is out — that the pelicans are having a serious problem and a lot of people want to chip in and do something to save them. They’re iconic birds,” he said.