Pelicans are dying around Riviera Bay and Coffee Pot Bayou and so far no one knows why. “It’s awful, it is,” said Eddie Gayton of the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary. Dead birds have been turning up since Wednesday. The sanctuary is caring for 14 pelicans that are still alive but lethargic and paralyzed, he said. They appear to have been poisoned by something, but
by what is the mystery. Another 22 died, he said, along with an egret that may or may not be part of the pelican die-off. And other wildlife rehabilitation facilities have taken in sick pelicans as well, said Barbara Walker of the Clearwater Audubon Society. “Nobody has a total,” she said. “We don’t have a good protocol here (for dealing with sick birds). And these birds are all being treated different at different facilities.” READ MORE
