Residents have an excellent opportunity to see something out of the ordinary at one of Lexington’s city parks. An American white pelican, nicknamed “Pelly” by those who have observed it over the past few months, has lived at Jacobson Park since around October of 2021.
“I think this is a really great opportunity for folks to get out to a local park and see something that you’re not normally going to see in Kentucky,” said Anna Wiker, who is a park naturalist with Parks & Recreation.
According to Wiker, American white pelicans are generally associated with the coast and the Western United States. These types of birds regularly migrate across the Great Plains from the coast. While no one is sure exactly how Pelly wound up at Jacobson Park, an injury to its right wing during migration likely knocked it off course. The pelican has since recovered from the injury but remains a fixture at Jacobson Park.
Pelly is easy to spot at the park. Whether it is hanging out near the water's edge or wading in the water searching for food, the American white pelican is far bigger than any other bird at Jacobson Park. This type of animal can have an overall length of 4 to 6 feet and have wingspans that can be up to 8 or 9 feet with an enormous orange bill.
In terms of a diet, American white pelicans feed on “pretty much anything they can get ahold of in the water,” according to Wiker.
“Usually like crawdads, frogs, fish, that kind of thing,” Wiker said. “But it is really fish that makes up the majority of their diet. Usually, they’re going to go for panfish; fish that we view commercially as not particularly valuable or not really big enough to be interesting to most fishermen. So normally they’re going after little bluegill. It’s not normal to see one eat giant fish. Usually, they’ll try to eat something half the size of their bill.”
While American white pelicans typically stay in flocks, Pelly has remained the only one of his species at Jacobson Park. In the meantime, Pelly has spent time with the double-crested cormorants at Jacobson Park.
“It seems to be aware that it’s a different species but I’ve definitely seen it sunning and fishing and hanging out with the cormorants out there."
A few reminders for folks who plan on visiting Pelly or any of our local parks in the future:
- Do not feed any of the wildlife.
- Do not chase wildlife as it could cause it unnecessary stress.
- Let's make sure to take care of wildlife that is in our parks. It’s common for water birds, including pelicans, ducks, cormorants, geese, etc. to be tangled in fishing line and cause lacerations that could lead to fatality.
- Be responsible with cleaning up trash and disposing of it in proper locations.
