Sick Pelicans

Listening to NPR, just heard a local report about sick pelicans, which reminded me that I did notice a couple pelicans hanging out on the beach on my way out to the water a couple days ago. I remarked to myself at the time I don't remember ever seeing anything like this before. It turns out that there have been a number of sick pelicans found on local beaches. Sea World has been collecting them and trying to nurse them back to health. Several have died. I guess they are about 2/3 their normal weight. Now that I think of it, they did look a bit sickly. But that could be retrospective coloring. A wildlife official interviewed said they didn't know what the cause was, but speculated it might be a parasite or a shortage of fish.