Pelican Dreams

Judy Irving, whose charming Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill (VL-11/05) celebrated the efforts of one man to help parrots survive in the none-too-hospitable environment of San Francisco Bay, takes up the cause of another avian species in this engaging follow-up. Pelican Dreams begins with footage of a disoriented brown pelican stopping traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge and being sent to a rehabilitation facility, where she is named Gigi and gradually restored to health. This incident ultimately prompted Irving to investigate the plight of pelicans around the country, finding that they are endangered by chemical spills, fishing lines, and climate change. Irving visits the Channel Islands off the Santa Barbara coast—the only breeding area in the region left to the birds—and also offers information on mating habits and pelican chicks' struggle for survival (it's estimated that only two out of three hatched chicks will live to maturity). While the film's inspiration was Gigi, the focus gradually turns to Morro, a severely injured bird adopted by a couple who hope that it will recover the ability to fly and thereby return to the wild (in one of the more humorous scenes, the couple allow the inquisitive animal to investigate their living room). Although technically a rather homespun documentary, Pelican Dreams evokes real concern for these odd-looking creatures—flying dinosaurs, as some call them—whose habitat is constantly shrinking. Recommended. (F. Swietek)