Rehabilitation manager Teresa Sepetauc rescues a brown pelican that got stuck on top of a cage at Pelican Harbor Seabird Stati

Seabird sanctuary marks 35 years of helping wildlife

Miami’s longtime seabird refuge set to upgrade facilities

With fishing line wrapped around his leg, a brown pelican happened to fly over the Pelican Harbor Seabird Station in Miami one recent Saturday when the line got caught on one of the facility’s outdoor cages.
He had come to the right place. Wildlife rehabilitator Teresa Sepetauc climbed up a ladder to reach the scared pelican, which she took inside the facility to remove the fishing line from his leg.

While she treated the superficial injury, the bird remained calm, maybe because he knew he was in good hands. The nonprofit wildlife facility, located on the 79th Street Causeway on Biscayne Bay, has been rescuing and treating native marine wildlife and other animals for 35 years.

“We give them a hundred percent and then send them back out,” said Sepetauc, who started volunteering at the station as a hobby over three years ago.

Since 1980, they have treated 25,000 animals and over 200 species. Patients are native birds including pelicans and seagulls. They also help songbirds, big hawks, turtles, iguanas, possums and exotic animals including squirrels. They don’t accept Muscovy ducks or domestic pets.

Most of the animals arrive with injuries such as broken wings and legs. Others are sick, have wounds or suffer from dehydration. Some are orphans. Often the animals are brought in, but other times people call to have them picked up. The facility works with the community depending on the situation.

Through the years, few have known about the facility.

“People would see an injured bird and have no idea what to do with it,” Sepetauc said. “They don’t know that we are here. A lot of people once they find out about us, they are willing to help.”

Fishing line and tackle entanglements are responsible for most injuries.

“We encourage fisherman to properly dispose of their fishing line and their hooks — not to just cut it and let it blow in the wind,” said Jan Pye who manages the Seabird Station.

The injuries and painful deaths that pelicans endure from ingesting lines and hooks segue into warnings that bear repeating.

“We ask fisherman and other people not to feed the pelicans and other birds because [when] you throw out a fish to feed them, they can’t tell a difference between you doing that, and someone throwing their line out with bait on it,” Pye said. “Then the birds go after the bait and they end up swallowing a large hook.”

Also, sometimes pelicans are thrown big pieces of fish that they can’t digest. The fish gets stuck in their windpipes, obstructing breathing. Sometimes workers at the station are able to remove it, but in more serious situations a veterinarian has to perform surgery.

The non-profit organization has five full time employees, 30 volunteers and some interns who feed the pelicans 30,000 pounds of fish a year and keep the place clean inside and out.

Lynn Fischer, a retired teacher who has volunteered for over three years, feeds the animals in their outdoor cages. She decided to volunteer after years of bringing birds in for treatment.

“I love my job. There’s a small staff and with the amount of money [they receive] they do an amazing job and everybody really cares.’’

To celebrate their 35th anniversary and to raise much needed funds, the station will hold a “pelican party” with a cocktail hour, three course dinner and silent auction on Saturday, March 14 at the Newport Beachside Hotel & Resort in Sunny Isles Beach at 6:30 p.m.

Individual tickets cost $75 and sponsorships start at $250.

“The pelican party is an opportunity for us to celebrate not just this year but our last 35 years of caring for wildlife in Miami and it’s an opportunity for us to acknowledge our donors and our volunteers and our big supporters,” said Christopher Boykin, the station’s executive director.

“There’s always been a need for more money, and more money would allow us to get better care for the animals,” Boykin said.

About 300 people are expected to attend. By late February, 200 tickets had been sold.

“We want to make as much money to get us through the next year.” Sepetauc said.

The facility’s humble beginnings date back to 1980 when retirees Harry and Darlene Kelton relocated to a houseboat docked at the Pelican Harbor Marina. One day the Keltons saw an injured brown pelican and they removed a fishhook from his mouth and treated him. They started the first seabird station from a large tool shed. In 1992 Miami-Dade County built the current facility.

Current plans call for a new building on the same site. The groundbreaking should occur at the end of the year with the station’s offices to be run from temporary trailers. Construction is being funded by the Lockwood Charitable Foundation.

Renovation will also include a boardwalk, drainage repairs and the installation of information signs for the cages explaining the animals’ species and history.

“We definitely have a lot of money to raise.” Boykin said.

In 2014 The Pelican Harbor Seabird Station treated 1,968 animals from 156 species. In the last three years they’ve helped over 1,900 animals with the same number expected this year.

Despite seeing sick and injured animals, Boykin’s spirit is buoyed by the people who bring them in to the station. “I love seeing the sympathy and the compassion of the human spirit and the beautiful diversity of the animal kingdom.”

The non-profit organization is funded by private donations from the community, small fundraisers held throughout the year and grants.

Boykin said he is very grateful for the support of Miami-Dade County, which pays for some of the station’s utilities and only charges $300 a year in rent for the site.

Without the county’s assistance, “we couldn’t build this building. They really do make it happen.” Boykin said.

Donations from the community such as newspapers and other supplies are also a big help.

“The community is what kept us going.” Pye said. “We are open to donations and in need of volunteers all the time.”