LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - An unusual number of migrating white pelicans apparently like what they found in Lincoln as they migrate north: a well-stocked lake.
Hundreds of the birds have been resting at Capitol Beach Lake, a private 300-acre lake and community west of downtown Lincoln. The pelicans travel north from the Gulf Coast to North Dakota and beyond.
“We’ve seen pelicans in the past, but only a few dozen or so,” said Sandy Scofield, who’s lived in a house overlooking the lake’s east shore since 2004.
Harvey Schwartz, vice president of the Capitol Beach community’s board of directors, said he also hasn’t seen that many pelicans in the 20 years he’s lived at the lake.
Capitol Beach was drained and deepened several years ago, and the lake was restocked with a variety of fish in order to find a species that could thrive there, Schwartz said. But it wasn’t until recently that varying species of catfish were introduced with some success.
“That seems to be the formula, and they’re even reproducing,” Schwartz said about the new catfish.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln bird expert Paul Johnsgard told the Lincoln Journal Star (https://bit.ly/2nmVhK3 ) that it’s not uncommon to see that many pelicans congregating at food spots in late March, although that’s not been the case at Capitol Beach Lake. Pelicans like shallow wetlands and tend to gather where fish are, he said.
Schwartz thinks the abundance of catfish is what’s attracted the winged visitors.
“They’re amazing birds, but they’re voracious eaters,” he said.
___
Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, https://www.journalstar.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.