Some Manitowoc area residents reported seeing flocks of white pelicans over the weekend.
The sightings occurred on Stone Road and Pierce Drive, according to Nancy Nabak, the Communications & Development Coordinator at Woodland Dunes Nature Center.
Nabak explained that during the mid-1990s, colonies of the American White Pelican experienced hard times in their original home on the prairies of the Dakotas and Minnesota and moved eastward to find suitable habitat and nesting opportunities.
“The pelicans that we’re seeing now are probably from that event and they found great habitat and a food source and they’re doing great.,” Nabak explained.
She added residents shouldn’t confuse these birds with the brown pelican you’d ordinarily see in Florida and southern states.
“You might be seeing if they look a little different there might be the difference between juveniles and adults,” she told Seehfaer News. “Pelicans are going to be migrating south in late September and October, so you may be seeing families getting together and starting to get a little more communal before they head out.”
As the population of the white pelican is increasing and traveling east, they’re finding the containment area in Manitowoc’s Harbor provides reasonable protection and is surrounded by an enormous supply of food.
Nabak added, “A lot of people are excited about the pelican being here and they are too.”
