Pelican Attacks
While watching the local news last night I was interested in one item relating to birds. At Waikerie in the Riverland area of South Australia two people were on the river bank fishing. According to the report one of the local pelicans came up and attacked the person fishing from his wheelchair, knocking him into the water. The victim’s friend came to the rescue, holding his head out of the water with one hand while ringing for an ambulance with his free hand.
This is not an isolated incident. Years ago I heard of a rogue pelican at Renmark, about an hour’s drive upstream from Waikerie. This pelican had been harassing people have picnics on the lawns in front of the hotel. There was even a report of a small dog being eaten by this pelican.
More recently, my daughter-in-law nearly lost her lunch when confronted by a pelican on the riverfront lawns at Mannum, which is further downstream. It was quite scarey for all of us sitting on the picnic seat. A fully grown pelican is quite a confronting beast about a metre from your face!
Australian Pelican
Related articles:
- Beware of the pelican
- Pelicans, Shelducks and Teal
- Australian Pelicans
- Pelicans – a list of articles about pelicans from my archives.
Notorious UK Egg Collector Dies
The most notorious egg collector in the UK, Colin Watson, died when he fell out of a 12 metre tree. Egg collecting has been illegal in the UK since 1981 and offenders risk heavy fines if caught. Any activity near the nests of rare birds attracts immediate police attention.
It was the end of a life which saw a schoolboy hobby develop into a passion that made Watson the most notorious collector of wild birds’ eggs in Britain for two decades. He was convicted six times under wildlife protection laws, fined thousands of pounds and finally had virtually his entire collection – the largest in Britain – confiscated after a raid on his home by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
For the full story click here.