"Hi, I’m Pete, one of the birds rescued by the Wild Bird Rehab. I'm a Pelican and was living at Chatfield Reservoir. I accidentally flew into a power line and injured my wing - it was a mess! Luckily, some kind people saw my accident and reported it. Lots of people started looking for me.

I was afraid of people so I kept away from them.
One day I started hanging out in a pond at the water plant. A bunch of people came and tried to grab me. They were chasing me and I finally decided to head over to a bigger pond. As I walked over, they caught me in a big net. I was scared and fought with all my might, but they finally got me in a big cage.

Then two women (Debbie S. and Laura M.) took me somewhere, held me down and put something soothing on my injuries. After about a day, they started feeding me some yummy fish. I was really skinny, hungry and hurting. Little by little, I started feeling better.
I was supposed to fly south but knew I couldn’t make it, so I got to stay where I was. One day I started getting fresh trout, yum! I am a stubborn Pelican and will only eat what I catch, so Debbie threw the fish up in the air and I caught them in my mouth. (Many thanks to Bob B., who learned how to ice fish and went fishing everyday to supply the fresh trout.)By spring, I was feeling fat and sassy, but some of my wing feathers never grew back, so I can’t fly.

Finally, on a beautiful spring day, a bunch of people put me back in the big cage and took me for a ride. Next thing I knew, they were opening the cage door and I was able to jump into a big lake. I was really excited. I can’t fly south, but I can get my own food and hang out with other pelicans.

So that’s my story. It started out a bit sad, but thanks to people like you, who support the Wild Bird Rehab, I got a second chance to live my life as a free, wild Pelican.
God bless you.”
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