This page still being updated.  Check back later for more information.

We need your help!!!  Please donate whatever you can here. See related videos here.

Bird Ally X has been a huge help to the HWCC in this event, check them out at http://birdallyx.blogspot.com/ for more information.   Thank you Bird Ally X!

 

10/7/11  We are happy to announce that the HWCC released the last of the 50 pelicans from this contamination event on Saturday Oct. 1st!  We were very happy to see clean and healthy birds return back to the wild.  Responding to this event proved to be a true team effort.  The HWCC alone would not have been able to accomplish the task of caring for these birds without help from others.  The HWCC would like to thank the public, local businesses, other agencies and organizations for stepping up and contributing in some way.

Bird Ally X-wonderful support and guidance in responding to this event.

HWCC Volunteers-stepping up and putting in the extra hours needed to respond to this event

Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN)-donated all the fish needed to feed the pelicans. 

OWCN and HSU-opened up the Marine Wildlife Care Center (MWCC) on the HSU campus so we could wash the first 25 pelicans.  Facility maintained by both OWCN and HSU.

California Conservation Corp (CCC)-putting together our two new sheds and transporting pelicans to an from MWCC on wash day.

Joel Guynup, Kernen Construction, Frank Jorge-providing and grading gravel for enclosures for pelicans.

Phil Burgess, Frank Speak-construction help.

Jacoby Creek Land Trust (JCLT)-very understanding about the extreme increase in activity at the HWCC.

Crescent City Harbor District, Harbor Master Richard Young-fast action in fixing the problems at the fish cleaning station and posting educational signs.

Janet Dickey at the North Coast Marine Mammal Center-great help in capturing contaminated pelicans in Crescent City.

Redwood National Park and Ca Dept. of Fish and Game-giving the permission to release pelicans in a safe location at the mouth of Redwood Creek.

KMUD-keeping this event in the news, especially about this issues in Shelter Cove!

Times Standard, Daily Triplicate, Independant, KHUM and everyone else who helped get the word out.

Local businesses who either donated supplies or gave the HWCC a generous discount

Almquist Lumber, The Farm Store, Eureka Ready Mix, North Coast Horticultural Supply, Englund Marine Supply Co., Redwood Marine, Revolution Bicycle Repair

Huge THANK YOU to all who sent in checks and donated money to help cover the costs-your donations purchased hardware cloth, shade cloth, pools, netting, medications, medical supplies, lumber, hardware, plumbing supplies, rubber mats for perches, feeding dishes, gloves, hoses, dryer to dry washed birds, cleaning supplies and more!

Huge THANK YOU to those who donated supplies such as sheets, towels, perches, fish, mountain bike tires and more!

The infrastructure that was created to care for all these pelicans will continure to be used in the years to come to care for others in need.

THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT, COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU!

HWCC

 

 

 

 

 

9/25/11

Things are beginning to slow down at the center.  Yesterday 8 pelicans and a cormorant were released in Shelter Cove.  That leaves us now with 5 pelicans left.  These remaining birds need a bit more care and treatment before they can be released.  Please join us at the Arcata Theatre for Ocean Night on October 8th for a quick video review of our efforts -- more to follow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9/17/11

Still very busy with pelicans!  Six more pelicans were released a few days ago.  That was the last of the pelicans from Crescent City.  We now are caring for eleven from Shelter Cove.  There are still six in Shelter Cove that are contaminated but not captured yet.  We hope to get them ASAP.  Volunteers from Bird Ally X and the HWCC are working hard to get these pelicans washed this weekend and one step closer to release.  A huge "thanks"  to all the volunteers who have be able to help with this pelican event.  Those of you who have donated $$$ and supples we thank you!  It is wonderful to see that so many of you care.  Donations are still needed however, please send a check (HWCC, PO Box 4141, Arcata, CA, 95518) or donate on-line.

9/11/11

Sorry for the delay.  The pelican release video has finally been uploaded.  Click above to see them.  We continue to care for pelicans every day, in addition to cormorants, auklets, raccoons and many other creatures.  Even small donations help.  Thank you for your continued support.

9/9/11

Eight more pelicans were released yesterday at Redwood Creek.  The release went well and all were strong and healthy.  Unfortunately four oil contaminated birds came in from Shelter cove and at least 5-6 more were spotted but could not be captured.  That still leaves us with 13 pelicans at the center with at least 6 that still need washing.  We have received just over 30 donations for a little over $3000.  We have spent well over $4000 on this response so far.  We have been blessed with some very generous donations and we appreciate it greatly.  However, we have had over 500 different visitors to the this page, and if everyone donated even a little bit we'd be in great shape.  Please help us with whatever you can.

9/7/11

The release went well yesterday.  Ten Brown Pelicans and one Western Gull were released at the mouth of Redwood Creek.  Normally we try to release animals in the same area from where they came, but in this case we wanted to try to keep these pelicans from continuing the bad habits that got them in trouble.  During the release an adult and several juvenile brown pelican "locals" showed up to watch the show.  We chose this site as we have seen pelicans diving and fishing here and it is well away from any "easy meals."  More pelicans are scheduled for release tomorrow, with more due after that.  We still are in need of donations - both money and volunteers.  Video should be posted sometime tomorrow.

9/6/11

Pelicans were released today.  We will have more photos and video up later.

9/5/11

Sorry for the lack of information the last few days.  All but 2 pelicans have now been washed and are recuperating outside.  The 2 that are left are recent arrivals.  One will be washed tomorrow and the other has a wound that needs to heal before it can be washed.  The first 4 birds that were washed are being evaluated today for release.  If everything checks out that could be done tomorrow.  Right now, most of the birds are in our outdoor aviaries that were constructed or modified in the last week.

In addition to the Crescent City birds we've gotten a pelican from Trinidad and from Samoa.  The Trinidad bird was oiled, and we are still working on the Samoa bird.  Monte Merrick from Bird Ally X will be checking out Shelter Cove this afternoon.  We're hoping the rumors we're hearing are not accurate, but if there are additional oiled birds there, we will take care of them.

So far, the HWCC has spent over $4000 responding to this event, not including food.   We have had about $3000 in donations come in, but more is needed.  A special thanks to everyone who has stepped up to help out.  Thanks to all the volunteers who have put in extra time at the center.  Thanks to John Griffith and his crew at the CCC for helping us out on Saturday as well. Also, thanks to the JCLT for their understanding about all the increase in activity at the center.

New video has been posted at our You-Tube page.  Check it out.

9/2/11 

I must tell you helping to wash 12 pelicans is hard work!  I think I will have some sore muscles in the morning.  Most of the pelicans are washed.  There is one late arrival from last night who is not ready to be washed.  It needs a bit for recovery time before washing.   This weekend  we are going to focus on the clean pelicans we have in care and continue collecting what supplies we still need.   By then the new pelicans will be ready for its wash.                                  

- 16 inch rounds of wood split in half to use as perches for the pelicans

- mountain bike tires -we cut them and then attach them to the perches, good for their feet

- shade cloth

- volunteer!  email us if you would like to volunteer for the HWCC

- money, when you don't have the specific items we need you can donate money and we can    then purchase what we need,. You can donate on line on our website or make a check to: 

HWCC

PO Box 4141

Arcata Ca 95518

 

That is the list so far.  Will have more to add tomorrow. If you have items to donate call our hotline at 822-8839.

Thank you to all who have donated and volunteered at the HWCC. We are grateful to the volunteers, individuals and businesses who have helped so far.  You do make a difference!

 

Lisa Kelsey

HWCC Board Member

 

 

 

9/1/2011

2 additional pelicans came in last night.  We started on the second batch of pelican washing today.  Very wet, very messy, quite tiring.  More to wash tomorrow.  Check out the wash video here.  The center has sure changed practically overnight.  New cages, all with nice river rock for drainage.  It looks good.

We want to thank everyone for the donations we've received, please keep it coming though.  Every donation makes a difference.  It is gratifying to see all the support we have in the community.

8/31/2011

8 more pelicans caught last night! Now we have a total of 23 pelicans and 2 western gulls.  Volunteers are working hard caring for these birds as well as construction of outdoor enclosures and collecting supplies.  Thank you to Janet Dickey from the North Coast Marine Mammal Center for continuing to help catch pelicans in need of cleaning.  The Harbor District  in Crescent City has added very nice signs to the cleaning stations so birds don't have access to the bins of fish waste.

This is our current needs list.  If you can donate any of the items below call our hotline- 707-822-8839.

$$$ donations

basic tools & hardware

extra large dog crates known as varri kennels

large limbs & rounds for making perches

assorted screws for assembling perches (2, 3, & 4 inch outdoor screws)

8/30/2011

We brought in 2 more pelicans last night bringing us to a total of 15 oiled pelicans and 2 gulls.  Hopefully things are beginning to slow down.  Thank you to Englund Marine for giving us a big discount on netting for the cages and once again thanks to Eric Almquist and Almquist lumber for the donation of some pressure treated wood for the base of a new cage.  Also, thanks to Redwood Marine for a great deal on a pelican catching net.  Don't forget to check out the intake videos and if you can, click the donate button above.

8/29/2011

We have 7 additional brown pelicans this morning.  With 2 pelicans having to be euthanized, that brings us to 13 pelicans and 2 gulls.  That's a lot of fish everyday.  We need to thank Joel Guynup, Kernen Construction, and Frank Jorge Excavating for getting us a load of river rock.  We also need to thank all our volunteers who have stepped up to help.

8/28/2011

Here is a copy of the press release that went out this morning.

We now have 8 Brown Pelicans and 2 Western Gulls at the HWCC.  We are beginning to wash the birds this morning and continuing to update our facilities to be able to handle the influx of very large birds.  In this photo volunteers wash the oil off a pelican.

 

8/27/2011

-  A local biologist in Crescent City spotted what he thought might be an oiled pelican and contacted Monte Merrick, an oil spill responder, about the possibility.  Monte checked out the pelicans in Crescent City harbor and noted up to 25 birds contaminated in what appeared to be fish oil.  The Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) is a statewide collective of trained wildlife care providers, regulatory agencies, academic institutions and wildlife organizations that works to rescue and rehabilitate oiled wildlife in California.  They only respond to petroleum based events, so this falls under the duties of the HWCC.  As of noon we had received 8 pelicans, one of which had to be euthanized.    We have already had to spend nearly $1000 for this event, with more to come.

You can see the oil on this pelican.  It is the darker areas just above its breast.

Here volunteers examine and intake a pelican.