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Like snowbirds, pelicans return to Saskatoon every spring.
However, the birds were late landing between the CPR Bridge and the weir this year. The first bird to touch down did so Thursday at 11:48 a.m.
It’s the birds’ latest arrival in Saskatoon in the past 24 years. The Meewasin Valley Authority (MVA) says the earliest and latest dates the pelicans have been observed are April 2 at 6:25 p.m. and April 20 at 4:36 p.m.
Jamie Harder, resource management technician for the MVA, said before the pelicans arrived Thursday that the snowy April was definitely a factor in the birds’ late arrival this year.
“Birds are driven by biology,” she said. “When the days get longer, they know it’s time to start to come back. But they’ll alter their routes if there’s a weather situation. Then they can hunker down for a bit and then continue on.
“In the spring, they’re all eager to get back because it’s a little bit more competitive to find the nesting spot, and to get the mate.”
Once on the endangered species list, these birds have been a recognizable figure on the South Saskatchewan River since the late 1970s, according to the MVA.
The pelicans are considered one of the city’s unofficial signs of spring.