PIPELINE:Wetlands center helps wildlife during 'orphan season'

It is a postcard morning in Huntington Beach: bright yellow sunshine, salt-scented breezes, a few wispy clouds and deep blue waves studded with surfers. Here, where Pacific Coast Highway meets Newland Street, a brown pelican cruises by overhead, pumping silently along a warm breeze toward the wetlands. I wonder if the bird senses the trouble directly below — where fellow pelicans are fighting for their lives.

I had wanted to visit the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center to document some of the excellent work done there caring for injured and orphaned wildlife throughout Orange County. Tucked in the shadow of the twin power-plant smokestacks, it's easy to miss the small structure as one drives the coast. What I hadn't counted on was the recent severe outbreak of the toxin called domoic acid, a naturally occurring poison that is produced by microscopic algae in the ocean (the acid accumulates in fish and shellfish and is passed on to other animals as the fish are eaten). I watch as workers treat sick pelicans, feeding them, cleaning them, testing them and keeping them comfortable under soft blankets and warm lamps. With dozens of lifeless birds (including seagulls, loons and cormorants) washing up on shore every day now, it seems these are the lucky ones, because they have made it to this soothing sanctuary alive.

Lisa Birkle, the assistant wildlife director at the center, can't recall a domoic acid outbreak this lethal, and she and her volunteer staff have been pushed to the limit. As to why it's so bad this year, some scientists theorize that factors such as overfishing and pollution have allowed the suspect algae to thrive. Regardless, it is reaching crisis levels. This is on top of what center regulars call "orphan season," the time of year right now when many animal moms are hit by cars, when babies fall from trees and other unfortunate circumstances happen that result in hundreds of orphaned baby animals. This is worst case on top of worst case. There's also the regular flow of opossums, raccoons and ground squirrels to tend to.

Wandering through the small, clean facility, one feels like a doctor doing hospital bed checks. Tired, recuperating pelicans rest patiently and nod a bit as if to acknowledge you.