Where are the pelicans, and will they return to the Mississippi Coast this summer?
If you’ve noticed the Mississippi Coast pelican population has thinned out this summer, you’re right. If you want to throw bread to the birds on the Biloxi Beach, you won’t find many there to call at you right now.
There’s a simple explanation for it: most are on maternity leave.
“Every summer, the adult pelicans that are of breeding age head down to the Louisiana Delta and parts of the Chandeleur Islands,” explained Mark LaSalle, PhD., local naturalist and former director of the Pascagoula River Audubon Center. “They don’t breed on the mainland. The few pelicans that we see on the poles are the old and the very young.”
Like seagulls, pelicans are colonial nesting birds. They find a safe, isolated area, colonize, breed and then nurture their fledglings during the summer months. Many go to Breton National Wildlife Refuge, a nearby federal sanctuary that’s part of the Mississippi River Delta.
Mom and dad share nesting responsibilities. “The female builds the nest in 7–10 days as the male gathers progressively smaller sticks for her,” according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
The male continues to add to the nest during incubation and may even rearrange the 12-inches wide by 4-inches deep space. The parents incubate their brood of two to four eggs with their feet.
After three months, the young are big enough to fly and fend for themselves, but take three to five years to reach sexual maturity.
LaSalle said the birds will likely return soon since the new additions have hatched by now.
“They’re starting to fledge now,” he said. “Oh my goodness. Thank God their mamas love them. They’re not the prettiest birds in the world.”
This story was originally published August 9, 2022 at 11:28 AM.
