'Pelican Express' Bring Duo Home From RI

A pair of pelicans blown north by Hurricane Sandy are now safely back within their rightful climate zone today thanks to the efforts of volunteers from Rhode Island to Florida.

The two juvenile birds were caught a day apart in Rhode Island on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8 following Hurricane Sandy. The first bird was found in Galilee while the second landed on a fishing vessel (which coincidentally donates food to Sea World) 120 miles south of Block Island. For the past week or so, they have been treated and care for at the Wildlife Rehabilitators Association of RI (WRARI) on Shermantown Road in North Kingstown.

"They were in fairly good condition physically," said Kristin Fletcher, executive director of WRARI. "They lost feathers and were really exhausted from that trip.”

According to Fletcher, pelicans typically don’t venture north of the Carolinas. During this time of year, they generally stay south of there in the Florida area, but the winds from Sandy blew the pair far off course.

During the week in Rhode Island, the two birds formed a bond – almost immediately, according to Fletcher.

“The two birds were just thankful to see each other [when they first met],” said Fletcher. “They had their necks wrapped around each other. It was very cute.”

Though WRARI is known for rehabilitating and caring for injured and orphaned wild birds and mammals (including owls, deer and more), pelicans are quite within their repertoire. Most of WRARI’s facilities are comprised of outdoor cages – and New England weather and pelicans don’t quite mesh. As a makeshift measure, the volunteers at WRARI bought a 5-person tent at Walmart and set it up right inside the building.

Knowing the pelicans’ vacation to Rhode Island was ill timed with the upcoming winter, WRARI arranged to have the birds flown down to Florida – courtesy of pilot Howard Coombs and David Hancock of Daytona Beach, FL. On Saturday morning, the two flew in to Quonset Airport where they picked up the birds and set off on a seven-hour trip to Florida, where the birds will be rehabilitated and then set free by the Marine Science Center in Ponce de Leon. The two jokingly named their flight "The Pelican Express."

But, this isn’t the last pelican WRARI will be caring for. According to their Facebook page, two volunteers picked up a third bird on a jet ski on Narragansett Bay Sunday afternoon. The bird is in relatively good shape – though he has some feather damage.