A pelican floats on Onondaga Lake near the Lakeview Ampitheater, Wednesday April 19, 2017. Michael Greenlar | mgreenlar@syracuse.com

A pelican floats on Onondaga Lake near the Lakeview Ampitheater.

(Michael Greenlar | mgreenlar@syracuse.com)

An American white pelican, rare for this area, has been spotted the past few days swimming along the southwestern shore of Onondaga Lake.

This is the second year in a row that a pelican has turned up in the waterway. The last one, which appeared in January in the Inner Harbor and hung around for more than two weeks before dying of starvation, created quite a stir among bird-watching enthusiasts.

The latest one has been reported by Upstate New York bird waters for about a week, according to Kevin McGowan, from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. He said there have been reports from Rochester, the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge -- and now Onondaga Lake.

"He showed initiallly (on Onondaga) last Friday," according Joe Brin, who does the Rare Bird Alert for the Onondaga Audubon Chapter. He said the first to report it there was Carla Bregman of Fayetteville.

Kevin Sullivan, who was out cycling on the path near the Amphitheater and emailed the following to Nyup.com:

"I was out for a late afternoon bike ride around Onondaga Lake Tuesday and spotted a white pelican about 300 yards west of the Lakeview Amphitheater, nearly 200 yards away from shore," he said. "It was clearly a white pelican. I am familiar with the mute swans that are spotted on the lake in pairs from time to time, and there was no confusion in my eyes (nor another biker that stopped to watch this large bird)."

The American white pelican is one of the largest North American birds, with adults having a wing span of nearly 8 feet. They eat mostly small fish that occur in shallow wetlands, such as minnows, carp, and suckers, according to allaboutbirds.com.

This reporter and a photographer went to the location this afternoon. At times the rain fell heavily and the wind was blowing. Cormorants, ducks, seagulls -- and an osprey were spotted.

And there was the pelican, swimming around some 150 to 300 yards offshore.

The one that hung around the Inner Harbor last winter attracted attention because normally American white pelicans winter along the Gulf Coast of Mexico.

This one, obviously a migrant, usually would be found this time of year flying back North west of the Great Lakes.

This year's bird is also different in that it has a growth on its bill.

"During the breeding season, adults grow an unusual projection or horn on the upper mandible near the tip of the bill," according to allaboutbirds.com.