A Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus crispus) with plastic rings was spotted at the Kalloni Salt Pans a few days ago! We reported the colour of the rings and the letters on them to the Hellenic Bird Ringing Center and got so much information about it.
These plastic rings are placed on the legs of larger birds while they are fully grown but unable to fly (chicks in the nest) to be able to read and id the bird during the rest of its life by observers being able to read the inscriptions of the ring through their binoculars, cameras or spotting scopes.
The bird was ringed as a chick in July 2020 with two yellow plastic rings (N137, N136), together with 13 more chicks in the nesting colonies of Lake Kerkini (Northern Greece). The bird most probably migrated south during the Autumn of that year, then back during the following Spring doing the same thing for one more year before reaching our island now. It has been observed here for several days with 21 more Dalmatian pelicans and 2 Great White Pelicans (Pelecanus onocrotalus).
Ο δακτυλιωμένος Αργυροπελεκάνος (φωτ. Στ. Ζαννέτος)
