As long as conditions don't become too severe, the wayward visitor is expected to fare well.

10:00 AM EST on Tuesday, January 4, 2005

BY KATIE MULVANEY
Journal Staff Writer

WESTERLY -- Ethan Bisbee didn't believe it when he heard that a pelican had hunkered down in Winnapaug Pond -- far, far from its tropical winter retreat. But sure enough, an American white pelican has rested, bill tucked under its wing, in a cove off Shore Road since Wednesday.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach

This American white pelican has been spending time this winter in Westerly, providing a treat for birders, since the breed is rarely seen north of Florida in the winter.

Bisbee and his wife, Susan, now keep a telescope trained on the striking white bird, which spends most of its time huddled on a tiny spit of land that juts into the water.

"I haven't seen it move; I haven't seen it fly," Bisbee said yesterday on the porch of his Shore Road home, just as the bird lifted its head and stretched its large yellow bill.

Wildlife officials believe the pelican was blown off course by a storm during migration and has picked the coastal pond as a good place to rest and refuel.

Thought to be the same bird photographed Dec. 19 near Patience Island,in Narragansett Bay, the pelican occasionally leaves its spot, most likely to dine on bait fish near shore. It is sometimes joined by great blue herons.

"Winnapaug Pond's a great spot," said Mike Tucker, a refuge manager with the Audubon Society of Rhode Island. Pelicans "eat when they have to eat and save energy in between."

Weighing about 16 pounds and with wings spanning 9 feet, American white pelicans breed as far north as central Canada in the summer. During the winter, they migrate south to the Gulf Coast and are rarely seen north of Florida on the East Coast.

"It's been quite the buzz among birders," Tucker said.

American white pelicans, pelecanus erythrorhynchos, have been sighted nine times in Rhode Island since 1900, Tucker said. The last sighting came in September 1996 near Old Harbor on Block Island. In 1994, a pair frequented the docks in Galilee for much of what was a bitter winter.

A brown pelican, commonly seen dramatically diving for fish in Florida, was spotted five years ago on the breakwater on Block Island.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach

This American white pelican has been spending time this winter in Westerly.

Conservationists remained optimistic yesterday about the latest pelican's chances.

"It certainly can survive as long as the conditions don't get too extreme and it can find food," Tucker said.

Katie Mulvaney can be reached at kmulvane [at] projo.com or 277-7417.

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