Another "must see" site in the Sarasota Bay area is the Pelican Man's Bird Sanctuary. It was founded in 1985 by Dale Shields, aka the pelican man. He began by rescuing injured and endangered brown pelicans who were often caught in monofilament fishing lines. A staggering statistic is the 90% of pelicans will be injured either by fishing line or fish hooks in their lifetime. It is fortunate for them that the pelican man is still working to protect them. He expanded his sanctuary to include many other types of injured birds. The good news is that 60% of the rescued birds can be nursed back to heath and returned to their natural habitat. Permanently disabled birds stay at the sanctuary for life and are available for public viewing. The sanctuary receives no funding and operates with the help of a large group of volunteers and the generous contributions of sanctuary visitors and others. Since 1985 over 100,000 birds have been treated at the Pelican Man's Sanctuary. For his extraordinary efforts Dale Shields, was honored by President Bush as on of the nation's "Points of Light" proving that one man can make a difference. Below is a picture of that plaque.
There were many interesting birds at this sanctuary. I have included photos of some of them :
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This is a Great White Egret. Notice his delicate feathers. In the late 1800's this bird was widely hunted for these feathers. A pound of egret feathers sold for $32.00, twice the price of gold! Fortunately the bird was protected before it was hunted to extinction. |
| This bird should look familiar. It is a gull, similar to the gulls we see along our coastline. This gull's "claim to fame" is that he is the largest of the gull family. Unfortunately this one is permanently disabled and will call the sanctuary home for life. |  |
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This bird looks quite ordinary you might think - a black crow. What makes him a bit out of the ordinary is that he is a talking crow! As we approached his cage he greeted us with several "hello's". According to the literature "popcorn" is also in his vocabulary, but we cannot attest to that first hand. Perhaps he needs a good movie for that one .... |
| A study in contrasts... In the cage next to the talking crow was the mute swan. No wonder the swan does not speak - she is too busy making herself look presentable! |  |
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Look closely and you will see two Bald Eagles, Liberty and
Freedom. What majestic birds serve as symbols of our country!
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| The Sand Hill Crane is commonly treated here at the sanctuary. These birds, whose natural habitat is slowly being replaced by golf courses, are treated many times for broken bones caused by golf balls. |  |
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This bird is an osprey. You may have seen osprey near the shore at home. These coastal birds are truly impressive. They have a very wide wingspan and build large nests, often on the top of a pole. There is an osprey nest in my neighborhood and I enjoy watching them. |
Unfortunately a number of these birds are also endangered. The good news is that there are people like Dale Shields providing sanctuaries to protect them, and people like you and I who contribute to the support of these shelters.
