Week Out

NEWPORT BEACH

A California brown pelican ? nicknamed “Crash” after colliding with a car windshield in June ? was well enough to be released at the water’s edge in Corona del Mar Thursday. Huntington Beach’s Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center, which nursed Crash to health, turned her and 10 other now-healthy pelicans loose.

Crash’s accident may have been caused by domoic acid poisoning, caused by red tide algae; the other birds were young ones who either had trouble feeding or got tangled in fishing hooks and lines. Wildlife center officials said so far in 2006 they’ve seen more animals needing care than in all of 2005 ? and a rash of pelican problems has led to more than 70 of the birds receiving care since June 22.