Good times, bad times for the brown pelican

By 1970, the number of brown pelicans in the US had fallen to 10,000. They were being killed by fishermen, who saw them as a threat to their catch. The birds' habitats were being devastated by DDT and other pesticides. Washington banned the use of DDT in 1972; since then, the brown pelican population has increased dramatically. Today, some 650,000 of the birds live along the coasts of the Americas, from Virginia south to Chile.

As crude oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico drifts ashore, it is expected to affect Louisiana's Queen Bess Island Pelican Rookery and other important breeding grounds. Crude oil is especially dangerous to birds, as it coats their feathers and hardens, making it impossible for them to fly.