Pelicans Back In North Dakota In Near-Record Numbers

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says American white pelicans are nesting at a central North Dakota refuge in near-record numbers.

Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge Manager Neil Shook says an aerial count shows 33,694 breeding adults. That's up from about 27,000 birds last year.

The white pelican colony at the refuge north of Medina peaked at 35,466 birds in 2000. The pelicans winter mainly in the Gulf Coast states but some fly to North Dakota from as far away as California to nest on the island.

The pelicans normally stay in North Dakota through September, raising their young and feasting at small prairie ponds within a 100-mile radius of the refuge.