Endangered white pelicans recorded on Vancouver Island in rare sighting

Birders across Vancouver Island are chirping over rare sightings of endangered white pelicans.

The sightings began last week, when a group of more than 60 white pelicans were spotted in North Saanich near the Victoria International Airport.

Videos and pictures of the birds were also taken in Lantzville, just north of Nanaimo.

The birds are normally found in the Chilcotin region of the B.C. Interior, as well as the Columbia Valley in Washington state.

Local bird experts say there could be a number of reasons why the birds have arrived on Vancouver Island.

"We are seeing, with climate change, more birds expanding their range northward," said Ann Nightingale with the Rocky Point Bird Observatory.

"So we are seeing more species expanding into the Victoria area and beyond," she said.

"Certainly forest fires do change bird behaviour and smoke can be an issue too," she added. "If the fires are right in the area that they want to go to breed, then obviously they can't do that."

The pelicans have been spotted across the Victoria region, from Panama Flats to Uplands and Cattle Point.