Spring is finally upon us and that means one thing at IBRRC: Ducklings! This year we’re again asking the public to help us pay for the cost of raising these orpahaned ducklings. Each year we receive thousands of these adorable little water birds. They have huge appetites and if you can help us out, we’d … Read more
Through a generous grant from the San Francisco Foundation Cosco Busan Oil Spill Fund, IBRRC is now recruiting new members to train for its renowned oil spill response team. The training and workshops will be provided by us at the Northern California headquarters in Cordelia. The first in a series of classes will be taking … Read more
People send us the nicest things: “I am a local (Venice based) film director. The other day I was shooting on the beach and I got some great footage of a sick pelican and his subsequent rescue by one of your volunteers. I edited together a little one minute film I thought might be useful … Read more
Dear Bird Rescue Supporters: I would like to provide you with an overview of what we know about the recent California Brown Pelican event that began in mid-December 2008 and slowed down in the last week or so. I wish we were able to point to a single “smoking gun” but we are not. Instead … Read more
How can you help us treat more sick and injured birds? Buy one of our newly designed IBRRC t-shirts. They’re $15 plus shipping and handling. The shirts were designed by Mark Russell, IBRRC’s resident bird artist, speaker and trainer. Available in Carolina Blue or Vegas Gold, these handsome shirts are guaranteed to look great and … Read more
We all know the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) can be slow at times but this is ridiculous: It took 2 months for our Fall 2008 newsletter to finally hit members’ mailboxes. Back just before Thanksgiving on November 26, 2008, our printer dropped off the 2,300 properly addressed copies at the main post office in Oakland. … Read more
We have now logged over 460 dead or ill pelicans from Baja California to Astoria, Oregon since mid-December. Some test results have been received, but many results are still pending. More conclusive evidence is expected within a week or two. So far, birds have tested negative for avian influenza and for high levels of domoic … Read more
In 35 years of studying pelicans, Dan Anderson, an avian specialist at UC Davis, says “it will take some detective work” to find out why scores of pelicans are showing thin, disoriented or even dead (photo, right) from Oregon to Baja California. In a story from the Chicago Sun-Times, Anderson, says he’s only seen this … Read more
The Contra Costa Times video perfectly captured the sounds, words and deeds of our staff and volunteers working with impacted brown pelicans. This report is from Fairfield and similar stories could be told from the Southern California bird center: The voice over is from Michelle Bellizzi, our dedicated Rehabilitation Manager in Fairfield, CA. Read the … Read more
This afternoon we received results from initial domoic acid tests which indicate some levels of domoic acid in the pelicans. While 3 out of the 6 birds tested were positive for domoic acid, we cannot conclude that the neurotoxin is the primary cause of the widespread illness. See more on our website Samples of phytoplankton … Read more