Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)

Seen in Connecticut only as a very rare vagrant the Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is a massive waterbird of a different sort. Amazingly one could have seen the species three years in a row in the Stratford/Milford area with an entirely random occurrence of a bird in August 2010, a sighting after Hurricane Irene in 2011, and another after Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

You never know what you will see on the shore! When you are patrolling your beaches this summer as a volunteer monitor keep an eye out for these huge birds over the waters of Long Island Sound. Stranger things have happened!