Wing Tagged Pelican-Long Pond/Larimer

[Rachel Kolokoff Hopper]

COBirders,

Yesterday I spotted a wing tagged pelican on Long Pond, Larimer. I reported the bird to the USGS band site and after finding information about a pelican banding project on Gunnison Island in Utah, I also sent an email to Joh Neill who is the project coordinator there.

I received this information from Joh today and thought I would share it. Pretty interesting.

------------------------------
Rachel Hopper
rkhphotography.net
r-ho...@comcast.net
Ft. Collins, CO

Begin forwarded message:

From: John Neill <john...@utah.gov>

Subject: Re: Wing Tagged Pelican

Date: September 17, 2019 at 10:37:38 AM MDT

To: Rachel Kolokoff Hopper <r-ho...@comcast.net>

Hi Rachel,

Thank you for sharing your sighting of pelican 0K5, and good luck taking a picture of it, as the pelicans are not the most cooperative subjects in my experience.  It was banded as a juvenile that was too young to fly on Gunnison Island, Utah on July 19, 2018.  Your sighting is the first one we have received of this pelican.

If you would like to learn more about tagged pelicans, please refer to a Wildlife Blog post from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources that details a banding trip to Gunnison Island and mentions other wing tagging efforts of American white pelicans in the United States:  http://wildlife.utah.gov/blog/2015/the-low-speed-stampede/.

You can also learn about our satellite tracking project with pelicans:  http://wildlife.utah.gov/blog/2016/round-trip-flights-salt-lake-city-to-mazatlan/.  It has a neat web map that plots the pelicans' movements (http://wildlife.utah.gov/pelican_webmap/).

We also have a camera on Gunnison Island.  You can see how the pelican colony takes shape throughout the year.  https://www.westminstercollege.edu/campus-life/centers-and-institutes/great-salt-lake-institute/pelicam

Help us spread the word of tagged pelicans.  We hope to increase awareness of pelicans and hopefully get more resightings of the wing tagged pelicans to help model survivorship and other variables.

We appreciate the help,

john

John Neill
Avian Biologist
Great Salt Lake Ecosystem Program
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
4790 S 7500 W
Hooper, Utah 84315

801-231-2019 (Cell)
801-985-3700 (Office)

Hours:  7-5 Monday-Thursday

wildlife.utah.gov/gsl

wildlife.utah.gov/gsl/waterbirdsurvey

wildlife.utah.gov/pelican_webmap/

GSLPELIproject.org