Bumper Crop of Pelican Chicks on Gaillard Island, Alabama

As this year’s crop of baby pelicans hatch out on Gaillard Island in Mobile Bay, biologists in Alabama are breathing a sigh of relief. At the midpoint of the first nesting season since the BP oil spill, the manmade rookery is housing a bumper crop.  At 1,300 acres, this island is one of the largest pelican nesting areas on the upper Gulf Coast.

Baby Brown Pelicans on Gaillard Island, Alabama (2011)

I think there is an uptick in the number of pelicans out there, and maybe even royal terns. Overall, it looks like a great year, said Roger Clay, with the state Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries.

Back in the early 1990s, shortly after the island was created out of the dirt dug up to make the Theodore Industrial Canal, around 1,000 pairs of pelicans showed up to nest. This year, there are 4,000 to 6,000 pairs, along with more than 10,000 pairs of gulls, herons, ibis and terns.
 
The 8,000 pelicans are now raising around 16,000 chicks, while the 20,000 gulls and other birds are raising around 40,000 chicks, meaning there are more than 80,000 birds on the island.

 We can always throw that caveat that we won’t know for years if the spill caused a problem, but a good hunch is that in the short term, it doesn’t appear to have had an effect, Clay said last week.

He said nearly every kind of shorebird common in the state nests on Gaillard. The island is prime bird habitat for two reasons: there are no predators and there are no people.

Pelican Spotlighted at The Writer's life

Today our tour takes us to The Writer's Life Blog.  Our book, One Pelican at a Time, is spotlighted.

Please take a look at how Pelican is showcased and what our blog sponsors think of it.

Pelican is now in its tenth week on the Amazon Bestsellers in Children's Books List.  We want to thank you all for that.

Pelican Pals Move West Today with a Review from the "Belle of Boisie"

Today finds us headin' west to Boisie, Idaho to meet the Belle,  The Belle of Boise, that is.  Bri Clark is her name, and bloggin's her game...

Downtown Boise

 One Pelican at a Time will be reviewed here today.  Come on over, and get in on some fine western hospitality.

Idaho is one beautiful state, and after we are reviewed, the three of us are going to do some sightseeing.  I wonder if they'll let pelicans into a restaurant, in a seat, mind you, not on a platter!

Brown Pelican

Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary and One Pelican at a Time: A Story of the Gulf Oil Spill

 


Rescued Pelicans

  Located on the beautiful Gulf Coast of Florida, the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary is a truly unique place.    Founded in 1971 by zoologist Ralph Heath, the Sanctuary is the largest non-profit wild bird hospital in the United States. It is staffed by experienced professionals assisted by over a hundred dedicated volunteers. Similar to a human hospital, it is equipped with emergency facilities, a surgical center, and indoor and outdoor rehabilitation areas. An average of 23-30 wild birds are admitted every day for a variety of reasons.

Unfortunately, approximately 90% of these injuries are directly or indirectly attributable to humans. 

During the gulf spill, many oiled and injured pelicans were taken to the bird sanctuary.  Most have been released.  Some have not.  The birds (some were not pelicans) from the spill are kept from human view, so they can be released back into the wild when they are able to live on their own. 



Feeding Brown Pelicans



 One of the Sanctuary's biggest success stories is the captive breeding of the Eastern brown pelican. This groundbreaking program has aided in educating zoological facilities and wildlife refuges all over the world in addition to reestablishing this species in the wild.

It is to this very sanctuary the old crooked beak pelican was taken, and it where Bella and Britt helped clean oil from his feathers.

Yes, I know.  Tampa Bay was not impacted by the spill.  Nevertheless, this is the prototype I used in the book.  In One Pelican at a Time, Mr. Hughes is the director.  A connection?  You be the judge of that.

Britt, Bella and the old crooked beak Pelican

Power Point Presentation Now Available On My Web Site for Illinois Reading Council Conference

Trailer for "One Pelican at a Time"

I am presenting a talk to the Illinois Reading Council Conference in Springfield, IL on March 17, 2011.  I've made Power Point slides to augment the presentation which is titled, Literacy Through Green Colored Glasses-Picture Book Activities to Help Kids Save Their Planet.  There are some great activities for children to do, all the while empowering them to care for and nurture their planet and have fun at the same time!

I'm making the slides available here and on my web site:

http://www.nancystewartbooks.com/IRC/LiteracyGreenColoredGlasses.ppt. 

http://www.nancystewartbooks.com/  

It is my hope they may be useful to teachers, librarians or anyone else who would like to show them in pursuit of a greener and healthier earth.

My children's picture book. One Pelican at a Time, is now available through:  http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.barnesandnoble.com/, http://www.indiebound.org/ and http://www.guardianangelpublishing.com/

One Pelican at a Time is the first US children's book to address the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of April 20,2010.  The book features Bella and Britt and their heroic efforts to save their friend, the old crooked beak pelican, whom they've known all their lives. 

An author's page gives facts about the spill as well as some green tips on how to save energy and make us less dependent on fossil fuel.  Britt and Bella lead us all by example. 

Britt, Bella, Pelican and I will be on tour virtually all over the blogosphere in April and May, with Pump Up Your Book.  Please watch for dates! 

One Book at a Time May Help Save Our Planet

A Deepwater Horizon drilling rig was rocked by an  explosion and fire on April 20, 2010.  It sank into the Gulf of Mexico. Tragically, eleven crew members died. Multiple attempts to completely shut off the flow of oil failed. On September 19, 2010, BP announced that its well was permanently sealed.

The spill caused extensive damage to marine and wildlife habitats as well as to the Gulf's fishing and tourism industries.  This kind of catastrophe should never occur again anywhere on our earth.

To this end, I've written a  children's picture book, One Pelican at a Time, to help put a face on this disaster.  One old, crooked beaked pelican helps Bella and Britt point the way to what even kids can do in such a tragedy.


Pelican will be released in the coming weeks.  This is the first children's book dealing with the Deepwater Horizon spill to be published in the US. 


Children want to know what they can do in such times.  One Pelican at a Time empowers kids to help in a real and meaningful way.  I hope they, and you, enjoy it.  And if it becomes a teaching moment tool, how wonderful is that?

Pelican Cleaning from Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

The Beautiful Brown Pelican



Picture book, One Pelican at a Time, coming soon!

My first picture book in the Bella and Britt series, One Pelican at a Time, is getting close to its release date of early 2011. The book tells the story of the girls' heroic efforts to save the old crooked beaked pelican from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.  They have know the pelican all their lives, and he, more than anything, stands for everything good about the beach.  Along the way, Bella and Britt assist other pelicans who are in trouble.

This was an emotionally difficult book to research and, in some ways, hard to write.  It is my wish that children take heart and courage from Pelican and do their part to help save this fragile planet they are to inherit.