Spring
migration
Hudson Star-ObserverPublished Wednesday, April
23, 2008:A flock of 100 or more white pelicans
has spent the past week on Lake Mallalieu,
mainly between the Second/Sixth Street bridge
and the dam.The unusual visitors have attracted
a lot of attention and prompted many calls to
the Star-Observer office.Some say it isn’t that
uncommon for pelicans to pass through Hudson in
the spring on the way to breeding grounds in
northwestern Minnesota, the Dakotas and Canada.
What’s unique about this year’s visit is the
number of birds, the length of their stay and
the fact that they’re on Lake Mallalieu instead
of the St. Croix River. Michele Woodford, a
wildlife biologist at the Eau Claire office of
the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources,
said the ice on northern waters and good fishing
in the Mallalieu is probably what is keeping the
big-billed, fish-eaters in Hudson.“They call
that staging when they hang around on the lakes
waiting for the other waters to open up,”
Woodford said. “If there’s food that they can
get to easily, they’ll probably stick around and
catch fish for a while.”
