The article discusses the troubling phenomenon of starving young brown pelicans in California, potentially caused by their parents abandoning them due to illness from harmful algal blooms. Research suggests that the young birds, unable to fend for themselves, may leave the nest prematurely without proper foraging skills. Conservationists are monitoring these pelicans, noting that this situation appears to occur more frequently in recent years. Factors such as climate change and historical threats from pesticides contribute to the pelicans' ongoing survival challenges.
"These young birds didn't know how to eat yet. It's circumstantial evidence, but it looked like, you know, if mom doesn't come back, they have to leave the nest or they'll die."
"This may be just an annual thing that happens now. Three of the past four years have broken our averages, so something is different."
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