PLEASANT VIEW, P.E.I. - It could be the chill in the Monday morning air was enough to convince Pelican Pete to fly off to a warmer climate.
An American white pelican that Pleasant View resident David Aylward first spotted swimming in Black Pond behind his home on Wednesday apparently flew off late Monday morning.
http://www.journalpioneer.com/news/american-white-pelican-in-pleasant-views-black-pond-since-wednesday-164523/Aylward said the rare pelican attracted a string of curious visitors and photographers all weekend was still in the pond Monday morning. By noon, though, the pelican, which his wife Marlene nicknamed Pete – even though they are not sure whether the bird is male or female – was nowhere to be seen.
Aylward did a visual search of the pond Monday afternoon but didn’t spot the large white bird with the telltale black wingtips.
“He would kind of float down round the north and fly back,” Aylward said in describing how the pelican spent his days in the pond.
Marlene Aylward confirmed Tuesday there were no new sightings of the bird. She suggested the wind on Monday must have proved favourable for Pete.
While she enjoyed keeping tabs on Pete, she said she’s glad the pelican took flight. “I was getting worried for him,” she said, suggesting some sort of intervention might have been necessary to protect the pelican from the cold had it hung around much longer.
Pelicans are typically getting close to their winter feeding grounds off the Florida coast by this time of year.
