by Elizabeth Renter, Natural Society:

Something is going on in the world of California brown pelicans; migration patterns are off-schedule and breeding is significantly down, but the birds aren’t sharing their secrets with biologists, leaving the scientists to guess about the cause of the disruptions.

“I was just sort of flabbergasted at seeing 3,500 brown pelicans resting in Malibu Lagoon,” said Dan Cooper, a biologist who monitors birds in that region. “I checked my notes, and I have numbers in the hundreds, but I’ve never seen anything like that.”

Cooper noticed the influx of pelicans in April, months in advance of their regular migration. Normally, the larger birds move in after other, smaller birds’ nesting seasons. The early pelicans are affecting the nesting season of these smaller birds as well, as they are forced to compete for space and resources.

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