It sounds like a band doesn't it? Well Sumner is actually an avian ecologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and a pelican is actually a type of bird. A few weeks ago during the air boat component of a waterfowl survey we noticed that a massive colony of pelicans had left their marsh island nests. Me, Jon, Ashley(visitors services), and Sumner had the opportunity to take the air boat onto the refuge and survey some pelicans. Armed with tally counters and chest waders we descended upon the small island counting nest after empty nest. We found pelican egg shells littered all over the place without a pelican in sight. When we arrived at the end of the island we noted that it in fact was only separated by a very shallow bank which would allow a predator to cross easily explaining the abandoned colony.
Flash forward a few weeks later we did a nest count of another more isolated island on the refuge and found hundreds of nests with pelicans to accompany them. Good news, the pelicans seem to have renested and this years population numbers are saved!
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