Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Abnormally dry weather has been a boon to American white pelicans nesting on a North Dakota island known as North America's largest refuge for the big-billed birds.
Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge manager Neil Shook says the dry spell appears to have curbed years of wet weather and surging water levels that threatened to swamp the main nesting island at the refuge.
Shook says island has shrunk by half in recent years, to 12 acres.
He says the big birds still have plenty of nesting room. An aerial survey completed this week showed some 27,120 breeding adults have returned from as far away as California and the Gulf Coast.
The count is among the highest recorded.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
