Since hundreds of starving brown pelicans were found on the coast of California this year, scientists have been trying to get to the bottom of the crisis.

A common theory is that the fish swam too deep for the large-beaked seabirds to catch, possibly due to ocean conditions.

Starting in April, sick pelicans were brought to wildlife centers weighing half their own weight or mutilated because they had become entangled in fishing nets – apparently the result of their desperate search for food.

When the die-offs subsided in mid-July, biologists were able to shift from viewing the carcasses to examining clues and tracking the surviving seabirds.

Since this year’s die-off is the second pelican starvation crisis in just a few years, wildlife centers are preparing for another event.

“We hope it doesn’t happen again, but we are cautiously prepared and ready for it,” said Debbie McGuire, executive director of Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach.

In search of survivors

Pelicans that had been nursed back to health and had died of starvation were released with identification bands on their legs.

This is where the public can help. Some have been marked with metal alloy bands, which are United States Geological Survey Bird Ringing Laboratory.

By reporting sightings of banded birds to the USGS – what you can do Here — Biologists can better understand the behavior and migratory patterns of pelicans and other seabirds.

“If you see a banded pelican, please come forward and let us know,” said McGuire of the Huntington Beach center. “Where are they going? How are they doing? How long have they been out there?”

McGuire’s center has begun fitting some of the pelicans released from her care with transmitters that use radio signals to determine their location. These pelicans will wear white bands.

A donor has provided funds to the center to install a tracking antenna on the center’s building in Huntington Beach.

International Bird Rescuewhich operates wildlife centers in Los Angeles and San Francisco, also hopes to learn more about the whereabouts of the pelicans they have marked with blue bands. You can report sightings of pelicans with blue bands Here.

“We can find out how far they can fly and how fast,” says Rebecca Duerr, research director at International BirdRescue’s wildlife clinics. “How long do they live after they are released?”

However, keep your distance while trying to spot the pelicans’ identification numbers. Pelicans will snap at people who venture too close.

Bird flu?

The Huntington Beach center has released all surviving birds except for about a dozen that are still recovering. International Bird Rescue has a few dozen more in its care, mostly those injured by fishing nets.

No more starving pelicans are coming home, but Duerr says there are still more injured birds than usual for unknown reasons.

The conditions that led to the mass starvation have calmed down for now, but avian biologists cannot rest. In addition to concerns that similar events could occur in the future, the specter of bird flu affecting the pelican population is ever-present.

“The strain has infected so many different species that it actually poses a conservation problem,” Duerr said.

How to donate

The animal shelters suffered a financial blow due to the mass starvation of the pelicans, as a large part of the income was spent on treating the patients with vitamins and infusions, but above all on food.

Wetlands and Wildlife Care Centerwhere, according to McGuire, it costs $10,000 a month to procure fish for the pelicans’ influx, is accepting donations.

You can donate to International Bird Rescue here.