As of September 2019, we are retiring this page. Our study of Brown pelicans is coming to an end and, unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to keep replying to every band reports (as we strove to do in the past). You can still report your observations directly to the Bird Banding Lab's website atwww.reportband.gov: they will inform us of your observations. Thanks for 6 great years of pelican-watching!
Example of a plastic band. Bands from Florida and Alabama are blue with three white letters, starting with a F. Our green Texas bands all have three white letters and start with a T. Bands of other colors may have letters and/or numbers.
Did you see a banded pelican in California? Please note that we study Brown pelicans nesting in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic coast.While we documented that pelicans from the Gulf sometimes cross to the Pacific coast of Mexico, it is unlikely that pelicans observed in California were part of our research study. If you observed banded pelicans in California or the Pacific coast, you can report them to International Bird Rescue's Blue Band program: https://www.bird-rescue.org/contact/found-a-bird/reporting-a-banded-bird.aspx