Pelican Flying Home for the Holidays

A brown pelican is headed home for the holidays, taking a plane from Boston to Florida this morning.

The pelican was taken in by the Eastham-based animal rescue group Wild Care Cape Cod on Nov. 30 after it was discovered in Provincetown.

“He was underweight, had signs of frostbite on his feet and an injury to his right elbow,” said Stephanie Ellis, executive director of Wild Care. The pelican was treated and has “responded really, really well,” Ellis said, but will be more at home in a warmer climate.

Flying out at 9:45 a.m. from Logan Airport, the pelican will stop in Atlanta before landing at Daytona Beach International Airport around 5 p.m., Ellis said, with a final destination at the Mary Keller Seabird Rehabilitation Sanctuary in Ponce Inlet, Fla.

“I feel like he’s going home for Christmas!” Ellis said. While she’s happy to get the bird to more suitable weather, she also is glad the bird will be in the hands of experts who can fully rehabilitate him.