Brown Pelican / IBRC #1-A-08

Rare Bird Report #1-A-08

IDAHO BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE
RARE BIRD REPORT FORM

SPECIES:

Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus)

HOW MANY:

1, adult alternate (breeding) plumage

REPORTER:

Doug Ward
8362 Selkirk Ct.
Hayden, ID 83835
(208) 762-7107

REPORTER EMAIL:

ward@revettminerals.com

OTHER OBSERVERS:

No other birdwatchers that I know of. I first became aware of the bird through a report to Shirley Sturts (s.sturts@verizon.net) that a Brown Pelican had been seen for "about a month" at the lake by local fishermen.

DATE REPORT PREPARED:

August 26, 2008

DATE SIGHTING OCCURRED:

July 15 & 16, 2008

LOCALITY OF OBSERVATION:

Hauser Lake; Kootenai County, Idaho

HABITAT:

Medium sized, open water lake.

CONDITIONS:

First sighting was for about 30 minutes of the bird at rest at a distance of 100-150 meters using a 15-45X spotting scope and 8X40 power binoculars.

The second sighting lasted about 10-15 minutes using the same equipment at distances of 100-500 meters.

Both days had clear skies with bright morning (8am) sun from the side or behind my observation points.

DID YOU TAKE NOTES?:

Yes, during the observation(field notes included at bottom)

DID YOU CONSULT FIELD GUIDE OR OTHER REFERENCES?:

Yes, later the same day

WHAT GUIDE(S) OR REFERENCE(S) DID YOU CONSULT?:

1) “The Sibley Guide to Birds”; Sibley; 2000

DESCRIPTION:

Obvious pelican shape (long neck, small head, long bill with extensive gular pouch), and size (larger than “Greater” Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) present).

Plumage: Back, including wing coverts, very pale tan; mantle slightly darker. All flight feathers (primaries and secondaries) appeared intact when seen in flight and were all colored medium brown. Chest, entire under parts, tail, and sides of neck medium brown. Back of neck/nape chocolate brown in a narrow band to crown. Head mostly whitish except for a very light brown smudge near the front of the crown extending to area around eye.

Bill/Feet/Eye Color: Bill very long (length of neck). Narrow upper mandible colored yellowish on culman and dark grey on side. Lower mandible dark grey. Gular pouch of bare skin was grayish-green in coloration – basis for assumption that this bird belongs to the west coast population group (P.o. californicus). Eye appeared pale but due to distance not clearly noted. Feet not seen.

Structure: As stated above, this bird was obviously a pelican - large, bulky body, long fairly broad wings, very short tail, long skinny neck, small, round head, and a long narrow bill (length of neck; 3-4X head depth) with a large gular pouch of bare skin.

BEHAVIOR:

On the first day observed, the bird was only seen resting in open water about 100-150 meters offshore. The bird’s posture was fairly diagnostic as its neck was held erect (nearly vertical), while the head was tipped straight down such that the bill rested on the front of its neck.

The following day the bird was found resting in the water near (~15-20 meters) a couple of fishermen in a small boat. When one of the fishermen had obviously hooked a fish, the pelican took off towards their boat, circled overhead, then landed in the water immediately (~2-3 meters) behind them. It sat there for a few minutes apparently waiting for a handout. With no meal forthcoming, the bird took off and flew towards the middle of the lake. Its flight was strong, and typical of this species; short, strong wing beats, with prolonged glides very close to the water surface while holding its neck folded onto its back with its bill held horizontally.

The pelican had been reported to be at Hauser Lake for “about a month” prior to me finding it on 16 July 2008. It had been mentioned that the bird was very tame; taking handouts from people at the public boat dock at the lake (my first sighting was near this dock). My observation of the pelican hanging out with the fishermen confirmed it has very little fear of man and was probably relying on handouts for at least a portion of its sustenance.

Origin:
The fact this bird was far out of range, and exhibited very tame behavior brings up the issue of origin.

>From a physical point of view, the bird appeared healthy during both observations as indicated by its typical neck posture while resting, and strong flight while in the air. It was in full alternate (breeding) plumage, though was fairly faded as you would expect for a vagrant adult of this species in July. There were no visible wing or neck bands, though the legs were not seen in order to detect the presence of a leg band. No unusual wear patterns or missing feathers were noted (all flight feathers seemed intact and in pretty good shape; no sign of pinioning or clipped wings) which may indicate an escaped captive animal.

>From a behavioral perspective the reported and observed tameness of this bird does not strike me as particularly unusual. Brown Pelican’s are notoriously tame in their normal range around fishing harbors and other public areas where they can get a free meal. It seems likely this bird probably learned and plied its trade in such a place before it got lost.

As for weather patterns which may have led this bird to north Idaho, that is very speculative. However, this pelican had apparently been on Hauser Lake for “about a month” before my observation which would put it there at least by mid-June. In late May 2008, there was a well documented movement of large numbers of Sabine’s Gulls (Xema sabini) through central Washington State. It is possible that whatever weather system brought this typically pelagic species inland during their northward migration also brought the pelican in from the coast.

In terms of specific origin, I feel this individual likely came from the west coast of North America. From a geographic perspective, this population seems most likely as Hauser Lake lies in the western foothills of the Rocky Mountains and is not far from the Columbia River Basin. The easterly flow of weather from the Pacific across this region could act as the “carrier” of coastal and pelagic species to our area. In support of this assumption is the fact that the Hauser Lake pelican exhibited a grayish-green colored gular pouch which according to Sibley (2000) is a characteristic of breeding birds of the west coast populations.

Considering each of the points above, I believe this bird was from a west coast population of Brown Pelicans (P.o. californicus) and very likely of wild origin.

HOW AND WHEN DID YOU POSITIVELY IDENTIFY THE BIRD, AND WHAT CLINCHED THE IDENTIFICATION FOR YOU?

Identity was obvious at first observation. Obviously a medium to dark brown pelican. Brown and white head and neck pattern indicated that it was an adult bird.

HOW DID YOU ELIMINATE SIMILAR SPECIES, AND WHAT WERE THEY?

Species considered included the American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) and the Peruvian Pelican (Pelecanus thagus).

American White Pelican (P. erythrorhynchos) is a regular visitor to our part of the world and is the obvious species with which compare the Hauser Lake bird. There could be no confusion with an adult White Pelican which is entirely white, has a bright orange to yellow bill and gular pouch, and pure black flight feathers, none of which the Hauser Lake pelican exhibited. While juvenile, and some older individual, White Pelicans can be fairly grayish-brown in color, particularly around the head, they are always very pale and seldom if ever show much contrast in their plumage. The Hauser Lake bird was primarily medium to dark brown and was brightly patterned on the head and neck. In addition, juvenile White Pelicans share the striking black flight feathers of the adults where as this bird’s flight feathers were entirely brown and did not contrast greatly with the coverts or body feathers. As for structural differences, White Pelican’s are fairly stocky birds where as the Hauser Lake pelican was relatively sleek and narrower winged in comparison. In terms of size, White Pelicans are much larger birds than Brown Pelicans and while this bird was larger than the Canada Geese present, it did not dwarf them as a White Pelican would.

While highly unlikely (not included on the AOU Checklist; 7th Edition, 48th supplement; 2006), the Peruvian Pelican (P. thagus) was considered as they are quite similar to Brown Pelicans (P. occidentalis) in plumage and behavior, and given this bird was far out of range itself, anything is possible. Peruvian Pelican’s range is the west coast of South America, and as such, any adult that made its way here during July would likely be in basic (non-breeding) plumage as this is the Austral winter. Similar to basic Brown Pelicans, Peruvian Pelicans show an entirely white head and neck in winter which the Hauser Lake bird did not have. In addition, Peruvian Pelicans are quite large and would be substantially larger than the Canada Geese in the area.

EXPERIENCE WITH THIS SPECIES (AND SIMILAR SPECIES):

I am very familiar with Brown Pelicans from both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the U.S., the Atlantic in the Caribbean, and on the Pacific coasts of the U.S. and Mexico. I have seen countless American White Pelicans throughout the U.S., and numerous Peruvian Pelicans in northern Chile and Peru.

GENERAL BIRDING EXPERIENCE:

I have 35 years of experience and consider myself an advanced birder.

WERE PHOTO(S), VIDEO, AND/OR AUDIO OBTAINED BY YOU?:

Photo (see below)

Idaho Rare Bird Report – 26 August 2008 (from notes written at time of observation)

Species: Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus)

Sex/Age: Adult; alternate plumage

Dates: 15-16 July 2008

Location: Hauser Lake; Kootenai County, Idaho

Description: Obvious pelican shape (long neck, small head, long bill with extensive gular pouch), and size (larger than “Greater” Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) present).

Bill / Feet / Eye Color: Bill very long (length of neck). Narrow upper mandible colored yellowish on culman and dark grey on side. Lower mandible dark grey. Gular pouch of bare skin was grayish-green in coloration – basis for assumption that this bird belongs to the west coast population group (P.o. californicus). Eye appeared pale but due to distance not clearly noted. Feet not seen.

Behavior: On the first day observed, the bird was only seen resting in open water about 100-150 meters offshore. The bird’s posture was fairly diagnostic as its neck was held erect (nearly vertical), while the head was tipped straight down such that the bill rested on the front of its neck.

Origin: The fact this bird was far out of range, and exhibited very tame behavior brings up the issue of origin.

From a physical point of view, the bird appeared healthy during both observations as indicated by its typical neck posture while resting, and strong flight while in the air. It was in full alternate (breeding) plumage, though was fairly faded as you would expect for a vagrant adult of this species in July. There were no visible wing or neck bands, though the legs were not seen in order to detect the presence of a leg band. No unusual wear patterns or missing feathers were noted (all flight feathers seemed intact and in pretty good shape; no sign of pinioning or clipped wings) which may indicate an escaped captive animal.

From a behavioral perspective the reported and observed tameness of this bird does not strike me as particularly unusual. Brown Pelican’s are notoriously tame in their normal range around fishing harbors and other public areas where they can get a free meal. It seems likely this bird probably learned and plied its trade in such a place before it got lost.

As for weather patterns which may have led this bird to north Idaho, that is very speculative. However, this pelican had apparently been on Hauser Lake for “about a month” before my observation which would put it there at least by mid-June. In late May 2008, there was a well documented movement of large numbers of Sabine’s Gulls (Xema sabini) through central Washington State. It is possible that whatever weather system brought this typically pelagic species inland during their northward migration also brought the pelican in from the coast.

Considering each of the points above, I believe this bird was from a west coast population of Brown Pelicans (P.o. californicus) and very likely of wild origin.

Similar Species: Species considered included the American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) and the Peruvian Pelican (Pelecanus thagus).

American White Pelican (P. erythrorhynchos) is a regular visitor to our part of the world and is the obvious species with which compare the Hauser Lake bird. There could be no confusion with an adult White Pelican which is entirely white, has a bright orange to yellow bill and gular pouch, and pure black flight feathers, none of which the Hauser Lake pelican exhibited. While juvenile, and some older individual, White Pelicans can be fairly grayish-brown in color, particularly around the head, they are always very pale and seldom if ever show much contrast in their plumage. The Hauser Lake bird was primarily medium to dark brown and was brightly patterned on the head and neck. In addition, juvenile White Pelicans share the striking black flight feathers of the adults where as this bird’s flight feathers were entirely brown and did not contrast greatly with the coverts or body feathers. As for structural differences, White Pelican’s are fairly stocky birds where as the Hauser Lake pelican was relatively sleek and narrower winged in comparison. In terms of size, White Pelicans are much larger birds than Brown Pelicans and while this bird was larger than the Canada Geese present, it did not dwarf them as a White Pelican would.

While highly unlikely (not included on the AOU Checklist; 7^th Edition, 48^th supplement; 2006), the Peruvian Pelican (P. thagus) was considered as they are quite similar to Brown Pelicans (P. occidentalis) in plumage and behavior, and given this bird was far out of range itself, anything is possible. Peruvian Pelican’s range is the west coast of South America, and as such, any adult that made its way here during July would likely be in basic (non-breeding) plumage as this is the Austral winter. Similar to basic Brown Pelicans, Peruvian Pelicans show an entirely white head and neck in winter which the Hauser Lake bird did not have. In addition, Peruvian Pelicans are quite large and would be substantially larger than the Canada Geese in the area.

References: 1) “The Sibley Guide to Birds”; Sibley; 2000