Are there pelicans in Puerto Rico? The Brown Pelican

How to recognize the Brown Pelican

It is huge and long-necked, with an oversized bill carrying a stretchy throat pouch. Adults are silver-gray above and dark below; in breeding plumage they show a white head washed yellow and a dark reddish-brown neck. Young birds are duller grayish-brown with a pale belly.

American White Pelican, accidental in Puerto Rico, is almost entirely white with black flight feathers and does not plunge-dive. Do not confuse the pelican with Magnificent Frigatebird, which soars high on angular wings with a forked tail, or with boobies, which are smaller and fly fast over the sea.

How it fishes: plunge-dives and single-file flight

Brown Pelican is one of the few pelicans that feed by diving. It plunges headfirst from as high as 60 feet, scoops fish into the pouch, drains the water, and then swallows. That noisy dive, with wings swept back, is the easiest way to identify it at a distance.

It also flies in single file, low over the waves, flapping and gliding almost in unison. In Puerto Rico it prefers shallow inshore waters, estuaries, and bays, avoids the open sea, and sometimes visits freshwater reservoirs. It eats mostly fish, so changes in nearshore fish schools affect it directly.

Where it nests: seven areas and three steady colonies

The federal monitoring plan records nesting at seven areas: the Aguadilla cliffs, Cayo Conejo off Vieques, Cayo Don Luis and Cayo Fríos in Lajas, Cayo Fríos in Santa Isabel, Cayo Morrillos in Ponce, and Cayo Ratones in Cabo Rojo. Only Cayo Conejo, Cayo Don Luis, and the Aguadilla cliffs are active every year; Vieques holds one of the largest colonies.

Since 2004 the DNER and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have focused monitoring on Cayo Don Luis and Cayo Fríos in Lajas, visiting weekly during incubation. In some years pelicans nest twice, from May to August and from December to March, probably when food is plentiful; the Atlas found the most activity from March to July, peaking in June.

Is it endangered? Recovered overall, fragile here

Brown Pelican was declared endangered in 1970 because pesticides such as DDT thinned its eggshells. After the general U.S. ban on DDT in 1972, numbers rose to more than 650,000 birds across the range, and in November 2009 it was removed from the federal list. Today the IUCN rates it Least Concern.

In Puerto Rico the picture is more delicate. The DNER keeps it as endangered, and the Atlas notes die-offs and low fledging success, mainly among juveniles. Threats include coastal development, colony disturbance by fishers and boaters, loss of roosts, hurricanes, declining prey fish, and oil spills.

Where to see it and how not to disturb it

Pelicans turn up in almost any bay or estuary on the coast. At the Cabo Rojo Salt Flats, the refuge checklist rates the species common in all four seasons, and the southwest coast near the Lajas cays offers good chances to watch it fish. The Atlas recorded it in 144 hexagons, mostly without breeding evidence.

Watch from shore or public piers and keep boats, kayaks, and drones away from nesting cays and roosts: if pelicans raise their heads or fly off, you are too close. If you find a pelican tangled in fishing line or injured, do not force it free; contact the DNER.

Are there pelicans in Puerto Rico?

Yes. The Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is a common resident of Puerto Rico's bays, estuaries, and coasts, and it nests on cays off Lajas, Vieques, and elsewhere. The American White Pelican occurs only as an accidental visitor.

Is the Brown Pelican endangered?

Not federally: it was removed from the endangered species list in 2009. In Puerto Rico, the DNER still classifies it as endangered and local law protects it, because its colonies are few and suffer die-offs and poor breeding success.

Where do pelicans nest in Puerto Rico?

Nesting has been recorded at seven areas, but only Cayo Conejo (Vieques), Cayo Don Luis (Lajas), and the Aguadilla cliffs are active every year. The DNER monitors Cayo Don Luis and Cayo Fríos in Lajas. Those cays should not be visited during nesting.

Are there white pelicans in Puerto Rico?

Only as a rarity. American White Pelican is recorded as accidental. It is almost all white with black flight feathers and does not plunge-dive; a young Brown Pelican with a pale belly is not a white pelican.

How do you tell a young pelican from an adult?

Adults are silver-gray above, dark below, with a white or yellowish head; in breeding season the neck turns reddish-brown. Young birds are duller grayish-brown with a pale belly.

Why do dead pelicans turn up in Puerto Rico?

The Breeding Bird Atlas notes that Puerto Rico's population suffers major die-offs and low fledging success, mostly among juveniles. Other documented threats include declining prey fish, hurricanes, oil spills, and colony disturbance. If you find an injured or tangled pelican, contact the DNER rather than handling it.

When do pelicans nest in Puerto Rico?

They have no single fixed season. The Atlas found the most activity from March to July, peaking in June, and the federal monitoring plan describes years with two nesting periods, May to August and December to March, probably when food is plentiful.

What is the Brown Pelican's scientific name?

Pelecanus occidentalis, in the family Pelecanidae. In Puerto Rico it is called Pelícano Pardo or simply pelícano.