# Missing Pelicans



## johnsona (Dec 4, 2003)

Anybody heard about this? I guess that sometime last week all the pelicans on Chase Lake got up and left sometime during the night, all 27,000 of em'. From what i've gathered, they abandoned all their nests and any eggs that were laid. I haven't heard any speculation as to why they left, so it'd be great if anyone has any info. I've never heard of anything like this before, sure is weird. Thanks for any replies.


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

We were discussing this at skeet league last night. I don't think anyone really knows why they left. Evidentally they've been coming back for many decades and this is a very unique situation.

I'm very curious to hear any suggestions.


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## SiouxperDave25 (Oct 6, 2002)

I was just reading about it on the Bismarck Tribune website and another 2000+ just left. The USFWS has no idea why.


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## GooseBuster3 (Mar 1, 2002)

No more fish for them to feed on? Or should I say the food supply is running short?


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## Dan Bueide (Jul 1, 2002)

GooseBuster3 said:


> No more fish for them to feed on? Or should I say the food supply is running short?


Given the winter-kill kind of winter we had last year?

Seems like a reasonable theory.

Still, very wierd.....


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## mallard (Mar 27, 2002)

Chase lake is a very saline body of water and has never supported fish life.They used to fly off of the lake and feed elsewhere.I have no idea why they left.


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## gandergrinder (Mar 10, 2002)

My first thoughts were on the line of GB3's. The carrying capacity of the area may dictate that it can't support anymore Pelicans so they decided that production was not necessary this year. Nature works in strange ways.

Either way this is an ornithologists wet dream. :lol:


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## Ryan_Todd (Apr 11, 2004)

i think them and cormorants are worthless birds anyway and we don't need anymore. they are one of the reasons why the dnr has to stock so many fish in lakes each year.


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## zogman (Mar 20, 2002)

I am with RT. Too bad the crow ducks didn't go also. Maybe they need a little help :sniper: Sorry just the way I feel.


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## redfishman (Apr 3, 2004)

Louisiana Conservationist just published an article about the "White pelicans" -it seems their populations are down dramatically and has officials scratching their heads. When fishing we look for the brown pelicans working bait fish in the bays--usually a good sign that school fish are close by........


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## zdosch (Aug 31, 2003)

I was just reading up on this article and I am too wondering where these big white devils went. We had about 75 pelicans with even more cormorants sitting on Mina Lake, Northeastern SoDak and they all disappeard about 5 days ago! I did see the cormorants eating bullheads, every now and then we'd see a cormorant with a decent size bullhead in it's mouth trying to suck it down. At least they do something that helps!!! I think when the season is just right they get up and leave even though they may have nests. It's just something they do, that's what I'm guessing but who knows.....

zach


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## johnsona (Dec 4, 2003)

Definitely hard to say. The other thing i was wondering is wouldn't you think they would've found them by now? How hard could it be to find that many birds? You would think that someone somewhere would notice that 27,000 pelicans just showed up. Maybe where they settle will tell us what Chase Lake was lacking.

They are definitely hell on fish populations, cormorants too, so maybe they decimated the food supply like gb3 said. Cormorants should all be shot, but its just as well that there's no season, I don't think I'd wanna eat one anyway. :lol:


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## Dave Brandt (Jun 20, 2003)

Here is a theory for you to discuss.

Just a note, there is no evidence of a food supply link to the disappearance. You would expect signs of malnutrition/starvation or poor condition which was lacking in the colonies. Also, these birds will make feeding flights of up to 100 miles.

*************************************************************
Missing Pelicans Due to Pole Shift?
14-Jun-2004

Officials in North Dakota are looking for 27,000 American white pelicans that are missing. They've abandoned their summer nesting grounds-leaving their eggs unhatched-at the Chase National Wildlife Refuge. 
"It's like they packed up and left in the middle of the night- except they didn't pack up, they just left," says Ken Torkelson of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They first noticed the missing birds about 2 weeks ago.

Ranger Kim Hanson says, "We don't think they were killed. We think they abandoned their nest(s)." The birds that stayed behind seem skittish.

One cause could be the impending pole shift, in which the Earth's magnetic fields will reverse. The magnetic fields have already started to move, which has confused some migratory birds, causing them to end up in the wrong destination.

Several readers have pointed out another possibility: Nearby Minot is home to the 91st Air Force Space Command, which could be sending out signals that have disrupted the birds' sense of direction.

Here's another mystery: Why was the CIA using mind control on supermodel Candy Jones?


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## Westark (Jun 19, 2003)

> One cause could be the impending pole shift, in which the Earth's magnetic fields will reverse. The magnetic fields have already started to move, which has confused some migratory birds, causing them to end up in the wrong destination.


This may not be as far fetched as I first thought. I did a little looking and there is some research to back this theory:

http://www.timstouse.com/ScienceNews/ra ... mayhem.htm


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

The magnetic poles are constantly moving but not switching polarity, I have learned this from directional drilling in the oil patch. A couple years ago when we had that real warm winter magnetic north was all the way down into Siberia on the other side of the planet.

I have seen this before but with gulls, it was botulism for them I think.


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## njsimonson (Sep 24, 2002)

The numbers of Pelicans on Ashtabula are waaay up this year, we saw thousands on her this weekend. Also, on the Sheyenne below the dam we have hundreds, where there once were only a few. The number of Cormorants is also higher on Ashtabula and the Sheyenne in northern Barnes County. In fact, I can't remember seeing a cormie up until this year on those bodies.

Maybe they'll eat all the bullheads!?!


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## MRN (Apr 1, 2002)

What? a Pole shift? Now? Was this on Oprah??

There is no pending pole shift - that's a goofy apocalyptic book written in the '80s. The poles do switch, but in about a couple 100,000 year cycle.



> Science, Vol 291, Issue 5509, 1714-1715 , 2 March 2001
> 
> When the Compass Stopped Reversing Its Poles
> Subir K. Banerjee
> ...


I can send you the whole PDF if you'd like, or you can watch for an update on Dr. Phil.

(Brandt, you know better than to post that - folks will believe it!!)

M.


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## Brad Anderson (Apr 1, 2002)

NJS is right. There are quite a few in the area. I really don't care for cormies and pelicans.


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## Dave Brandt (Jun 20, 2003)

Mark,

I couldn't help it. It cracked me up too much not to share it. It is a nice piece of European journalism although. Check out the website if you want more stories from child sacrifice in Chile to UFOs and more.

http://www.unknowncountry.com/news/month.phtml

This pelican thing has really got the upper brass in the FWS in a tizz. The poor people a Chase lake WMD are having to devote most of their time to addressing this incident over the phone and otherwise.

-Dave


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## Blake Hermel (Sep 10, 2002)

I have been doing alot of flying in central Mn this summer. I have seen alot more than normal. I also almost hit one while flying at 3,000 feet. I thought it was a little high. There is also normal levels in Lockport MB when I was up there. I wouldnt be surprised if there was an eastward migration. MN is stacked this year.


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

The task of locating the principal magnetic pole is difficult for many reasons; the large area over which the dip or inclination (I) is nearly 90 degrees, the pole areas are not fixed points, but move tens to hundreds of kilometers because of daily variations and magnetic storms, and finally, the polar areas are relatively inaccessible to survey crews (map of North and South polar wander - courtesy of Dr. John Quinn, U.S. Geological Survey retired). The Geological Survey of Canada keeps track of the North Magnetic Pole, which is slowly drifting across the Canadian Arctic, by periodically carrying out magnetic surveys to redetermine the Pole's location. The most recent survey, completed in May, 2001, determined an updated position for the Pole and established that it is moving approximately northwest at 40 km per year. The observed position for 2001 and estimated positions for 2002 to 2005 are:

Year Latitude (°N) Longitude (°W) 
2001 81.3 110.8 
2002 81.6 111.6 
2003 82.0 112.4 
2004 82.3 113.4 
2005 82.7 114.4 
Observed position of the South Magnetic Pole 
2001 64.7° S 138.0° E 
Source: Canadian Geologic Survey

The current model dip pole based on the IGRF 2000, computed for 2001 is:

81.0 N and 110.0 W degrees 
64.6 S and 138.3 E degrees

http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/seg/geomag/geomag.shtml


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## MRN (Apr 1, 2002)

Dave,
I guess if I had kept quiet we could have cleaned up on folks selling their old compasses that weren't going to work any longer.

That's an enormous amount of pole movement - but that IS from the Canadian geological survey - they still use the old compasses.... ;-)
When I learned to fly in Northern Alberta I was amazed how much the magnetic-to-true compass correction changed every few years. A 20 year old aviation map could get you lost quick up there.

M.


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## PJ (Oct 1, 2002)

I saw a bunch of pelicans when I drove through soda to Wisconsin last weekend. It's like a steven king book or something?


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## cootkiller (Oct 23, 2002)

Nope, You are all wrong.

They heard how good the fishing was on Devils Lake so they all moved up here. :lol:

cootkiller


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## 870 XPRS (Mar 12, 2003)

CNN has a story on the pelicans on the websites homepage, but it really doesn't say anything we dind't already know.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Central/07/1 ... index.html


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## mngooser (Mar 27, 2003)

I talked to a DNR wildlife dept guy and he had heard a theory that was totally weather-based. He said something about a huge hail storm. That just made them nuts! I have seen more pelicans this summer than ever before in MN.

Whether you like em hate em or are indifferent to pelicans, you have to admit it is kind of interesting that they all bugged out like that.


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

Kind of old news, but surprisingly never got posted so it maybe news to some!



> Lost pelicans spotted in Minnesota: North Dakota birds found in Becker and nearby counties
> 
> By Tim Kjos, The Forum
> Published Sunday, July 18, 2004
> ...


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