On June 23, 2010, the United States Coast Guard arrived at Signature Flight Airport, New Orleans in two HC-144 cargo planes to transport 63 rehabilitated pelicans to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas.
The American white pelican is one of the largest birds in North America, measuring 6 feet from bill to tail. White pelicans weigh up to 20 pounds and have a wingspan of 8 to 9 and a half feet long.
Along the banks of the Colorado River, bordering Arizona and California sits Havasu NWR. Extremely popular for water recreation, the refuge hosts some 500,000 visitors a year and is host to over 297 species of birds such as herons, pelicans,...
Eight brown pelicans in flight. The Brown Pelican is the only exclusively marine member of the pelican family, and the only one that regularly dives for its food.
There are 1,300 brown pelican nests on Breton Island. Brown pelicans have recently been downlisted from endangered to threatened. Photo taken on May 3, 2010 as the oil spill approaches the Gulf Coast. Boom can be seen in the background.
