Brown pelican

The brown pelican is one of two species of pelicans found in Florida, the white pelican being the other.

They have distinctive pouches under their bills and cannot be mistaken for the white pelican due to the size and color difference. The brown pelican is the smallest pelican species worldwide.

While we often see a line of brown pelicans skimming the wavetops off the Atlantic Coast, it’s hard to believe they almost went extinct.

When a colony of brown pelicans was protected by President Theodore Roosevelt, the plight of the brown pelican was thrust into the national spotlight.

His proclamation of a new type of public land created the first National Wildlife Refuge on Florida’s Pelican Island in the Indian River Lagoon near Sebastian.

As with many other Florida birds with showy plumage, pelicans were being pushed to the brink of extinction by hunters eager to feed the public thirst for plumes on hats.

Pelicans are colonial nesting birds. While most of their nest sites are quite secretive, we’ve observed them off Cedar Key nesting on Seahorse Key, which is off-limits to visitors during the nesting season.

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Pelican Island NWR

The birthplace of the National Wildlife Refuge system, Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge protects more than 5,400 acres along and in the Indian River Lagoon off Sebastian