On June 14th we returned to the Terrell's Islands to check water levels and the fate of the young pelicans. In the few weeks after the first round of pelican banding, the area experienced excessive rains. I need to stress here that we did not access the islands only floated around in a boat observing. The birds did not appear to be bothered by this.
Our trip found that the water had come up covering about 6-8 feet of dry land around the islands. They are now over crowded. There are young birds sitting next to the waters edge, and young birds in nests mere inches from the water. There are also dead chicks and adult birds. We also could see eggs that never hatched, water washing over them.
We also observed great egrets and cormorants in nests. And a first for me, cattle egrets.
**UPDATE** On June 20th the Wisconsin DNR has ordered The Feather Rehab Center to cease pelican banding at Terrell's Island.
A pelican chick nestles up against a deceased sibling while 2 others look on only inches from the water
Cattle Egrets
High rise nest
The young pelicans are mere inches from the edge of the water
Double crested cormorant
Drying off ~ Cormorants are not fully waterproof so they hold their wings out to dry off
Double crested cormorants
You can see some of the young birds crowded together in the background
Great work on these Tammie, with all that rain, it's a shame the birds are caught up in all this. I hope the banding ban is just temporary, the Pelicans must be under an awful amount of stress right now