PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — California brown pelicans are begging for food on the Oregon coast rather than migrate south to breeding grounds.
An estimated 1,000 brown pelicans have remained off the state’s coast, an unheard of number at a time of year when they should be in Mexico or Southern California. About 50 birds have died, but wildlife officials expect the number to escalate.
The pelicans typically migrate from Oregon and Washington in October or November.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has urged residents not to feed the birds, saying it will further disrupt their migration pattern.
