About one-third of the world’s breeding population of White Pelicans is found in Minnesota, and Audubon Minnesota has identified the striking birds as a “Stewardship Species” and made them the focus of special conservation efforts. In May 2012, a team from Audubon Minnesota, North Dakota State University, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Nongame program fitted five adult pelicans them with satellite-linked GPS tracking units. These units will transmit hourly readings on the birds’ locations, providing new insights into where they are foraging in the summer, their migration strategies, and how they use the gulf during the winter. This will help us learn more about the threats they encounter along the way, including risks posed by oil and other pollutants in the gulf and elsewhere.

In the News

Report from Minnesota Public Radio, May 16, 2012. Researchers for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources have found evidence of petroleum compounds and the chemical used to clean up the oil in the eggs of White Pelicans nesting on islands on Marsh Lake in western Minnesota. Petroleum compounds were present in 90 percent of the first batch of eggs tested. Nearly 80 percent of the eggs contained the chemical dispersant used in the gulf. Read the MPR news story on researchers’ efforts to learn how petroleum compounds affect developing bird embryos.

Source: mn.audubon.org

Photo Credit: NDomer73