For 4th of July, decided to go hang out at Marina Del Rey and catch some fireworks. The plan was to get there early, find a decent parking spot and hang out until 9pm for the fireworks. Grabbed lunch at "The Warehouse" then parked ourselves along Fiji Way and took some pictures of pelicans.

PHOTO COPYRIGHT © 2012 sidster.com (click to enlarge)


While hanging out and watching the pelicans, we saw a fishing ship dock. The pelicans stormed the fishing ship "New Del Mar" stealing whatever "chum" they could. While the crew fought them off, either shooing them away or spraying them with water using a water hose.

Then when we noticed some of the crew start grabbing the birds by their wings, necks and beaks and throwing them off the ship. Their actions seemed abusive. Notice this next picture of a younger (teenage) crew member tossing the pelican off to the side of the ship. Notice how the pelican's neck landed on the railing!

The "New Del Mar" vessel has a registered owner of Del Mar Sportfishing Inc, 1140 1/2 Second ST. Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 1-800-822-3625 (DOCK). The vessel's call sign is WDA8503 and its hull number is NWP57126L500 according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration web-site.