Pelicans across the Central Coast, from The Entrance to Woy Woy, are appearing with red patches from an unknown cause.
Cathy Gilmore from Australian Seabird Rescue Central Coast has some ideas as to why this is happening.
She says that it looks like someone in the community is marking the pelicans and releasing them into the wild, which is having detrimental effects on the birds and the marine environment they call home.
“Someone is marking them with chloromide, which we used about 30 years ago on scalped pelicans to keep the flies away, and we used that until the vets said it wasn’t good for them,” she said.
“Whoever is doing this has no idea what they are doing, they are clearly not qualified, and they need to be stopped.
“Chloromide is highly toxic to birds and marine life and if it were to spill into a waterway it will kill life in a marine environment,” Gilmore said.
It is an antiseptic commonly used in larger animals such as horses, cattle, pigs, sheep and dogs to treat topical infections, bacterial skin diseases, wounds, cuts and abrasions.
Gilmore, who has been a co-ordinator for Australian Seabird Rescue Central Coast for 30 years, also explained that these pink and red markings not only can be poisonous, but it can also make affected pelicans an easier target for predators.
“If anyone sees this kind of activity, take a photo and report it to Central Coast Council and National Parks and Wildlife Service,” Gilmore said.
Harry Mulholland