Our VP Cheryl has been hard at (lovingly unpaid) work at IBRRC this weekend taking care of a peck of pelicans who have been adversely affected by all the runoff pollution in their water. It is hard, unforgiving work. These birds are nearly as tall as she is, and their beak can function as prodigious bayonet. Still the white pelican is one of Cheryl’s favorite birds in all the world, so she was happy to send this photo of a recovering patient:
Photo: Cheryl Reynolds
A marvelous bird is the pelican
His beak can hold more than his belly can.
He can store in his beak
Enough food for a week
But don’t ask me just how the hell ‘e can.
Dixon Lanire Merrith (1910)
