Pelican

An endangered brown pelican that nearly died from wing injuries that killed 10 others of its species took to the air Wednesday in Corona Del Mar after two weeks of rehabilitation. At Big Corona State Beach, those who cared for the bird set her free. Apparently eager to get back into the water, the bird leaped into the air and didn’t turn back. That’s not unexpected considering her behavior in rehab, said Debbie McGuire, wildlife director of the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach, which nursed the pelican back to health.

The monetary reward is $6,000. But surely there will be greater rewards for whoever helps authorities arrest those responsible for mutilating a pelican, which was found injured in Huntington Beach last week. The female brown pelican, following surgery at a Costa Mesa animal care facility, is doing OK, though there's no telling yet whether the bird's pouch, which almost certainly was intentionally slit, will stand up to normal wear. And this bird is lucky.

A pelican is being nursed back to health in Huntington Beach after a 19-year-old man fishing on the Newport pier allegedly stomped on it. The bird, a 3-year-old male, has a horizontal hairline fracture along its beak from the incident, said Wildlife Director Debbie McGuire of the Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach. Daniel Richard Moreno, 19, a Perris resident, was fishing on the pier March 14 when the pelican swooped in to eat a fish he had caught that he set on the ground next to him, police said.

Marisa O'Neil and Lauren Vane The award for information leading to the arrest of anyone involved in the mutilation of a pelican found last week in Huntington Beach has jumped to $6,000. The endangered brown pelican, a roughly 3-year-old female, is recovering at the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach. She underwent a two-hour surgery last Thursday at All Creatures Care Cottage in Costa Mesa to repair her throat pouch, which may have been intentionally slit.

. FOR THE RECORD: In the Oct. 2 article ?Bird reward up to $20,000? the first paragraph should have stated that the wings of 11 pelicans were injured. Ten of the birds had their wings snapped, and the wings of the surviving pelican, in the picture, were bent backward.. A group of wildlife protection agencies has quadrupled the reward for information on whoever snapped the wings of 11 endangered brown pelicans on Bolsa Chica State Beach. The reward has risen from an initial $5,000 to $20,000 for anyone with information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible.

Test results released Wednesday indicate domoic acid was not responsible for the deaths and illnesses of scores of cormorants and pelicans along the coast, said Debbie McGuire, the wildlife director of the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center. More than a dozen local birds have fallen sick or died; dozens from Orange County have been affected. Nearly two dozen were brought in over the weekend, McGuire said. About half of them died or had to be euthanized, she said. Over the weekend, care center staff sent blood samples to USC to test for domoic acid poisoning, which is caused by algae blooms.

Andrew Edwards Hope took wing at Little Corona beach Wednesday after spending more than two months in captivity recuperating from a vicious attack by someone who nearly cut off the bird's throat pouch. "We've been calling her Hope because we've all been waiting for this day," said Debbie McGuire, anticipating the California brown pelican's release. McGuire is wildlife director for the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach, where the pelican stayed while recovering from the apparent attack.

Ricky, Lucy, Ethel and Stella are shaken, but safe. The four birds, who usually reside at the A2Z Animals ranch in Acton, found themselves in danger as the massive Station Fire approached the ranch. The birds, who work in the film industry, spent several hours in confusion and confinement as they were evacuated. They are now happily eating and flapping their wings in the relative luxury of the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach. All of the birds had suffered from smoke inhalation, and hadn’t eaten for about two days by the time they arrived at the center.

A pelican is being nursed back to health in Huntington Beach after a 19-year-old man fishing on the Newport pier allegedly stomped on it. The bird, a 3-year-old male, has a horizontal hairline fracture along its beak from the incident, said Wildlife Director Debbie McGuire of the Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach. Daniel Richard Moreno, 19, a Perris resident, was fishing on the pier March 14 when the pelican swooped in to eat a fish he had caught that he set on the ground next to him, police said.

I love living in a city where pelicans get so much press. This paper did a wonderful job last week covering some recent news (“A long-awaited flight,” Feb. 18), and I had just been to the Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center the week before that after learning about the dozens of sick birds. Perhaps it’s because I’m partial to pelicans, but still, any opportunity to watch the volunteers at the center work their magic is always a rewarding experience. The morning I went to hang around and observe, there were but three people there, yet they seemed to be doing the work of at least twice as many, methodically weighing, treating, feeding and tending to literally dozens of brown pelicans in their Pacific Coast Highway facility.

This is boot camp for any so-called animal lover. The staff at the Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach have spent every day since the new year feeding, warming and otherwise rehabilitating more than 100 pelicans who have come in sick and starved. It’s hard, messy and sometimes smelly work, considering the birds’ many medical woes and the piles of raw fish needed to keep them fed. It’s also valuable work, and a great benefit to the ecosystem — especially considering that brown pelicans were removed from the federal endangered species list just three months ago. But unlike, say, cats or dogs, those scavenging sea birds aren’t known for expressing love and gratitude to humans.

The L-shaped bundle was giving Kelly Beavers trouble as she maneuvered it carefully toward a plastic crate in the lab at the Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center. A pair of webbed feet began kicking under the white sheet that she cradled in her arms. A long beak, which Beavers gripped tightly with one hand, thrashed about as well. Looking around the crates, which had been manufactured for dogs but were housing pelicans Tuesday afternoon, she opted for one that was small enough to hold a single, hot-tempered bird.

Ricky, Lucy, Ethel and Stella are shaken, but safe. The four birds, who usually reside at the A2Z Animals ranch in Acton, found themselves in danger as the massive Station Fire approached the ranch. The birds, who work in the film industry, spent several hours in confusion and confinement as they were evacuated. They are now happily eating and flapping their wings in the relative luxury of the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach. All of the birds had suffered from smoke inhalation, and hadn’t eaten for about two days by the time they arrived at the center.

Test results released Wednesday indicate domoic acid was not responsible for the deaths and illnesses of scores of cormorants and pelicans along the coast, said Debbie McGuire, the wildlife director of the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center. More than a dozen local birds have fallen sick or died; dozens from Orange County have been affected. Nearly two dozen were brought in over the weekend, McGuire said. About half of them died or had to be euthanized, she said. Over the weekend, care center staff sent blood samples to USC to test for domoic acid poisoning, which is caused by algae blooms.

A mystery illness that has grounded dozens of birds, killing some of them, has possibly spread to Newport Beach’s shores, experts said Friday. Starting in the afternoon, Huntington Beach’s Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center Director Debbie McGuire said her office began receiving calls from Newport Beach Animal Control that “scores” of birds had been found dead or dying along the coast. Huntington Beach has been dealing with the problem, which had been affecting mostly pelicans, since earlier in the week.

More than 100 pelicans up and down the coast have been grounded by a mysterious illness this winter. “People are finding them from Baja to Humboldt,” said Debbie McGuire, the wildlife director of the local Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach. “My verdict is still out, but I would lean toward a virus or bacteria out there.” McGuire said about 30 of the birds have been brought to her center alone. As of Tuesday, there were eight “inpatients.