Hampton Captain Has Remarkably Rare Encounter At Sea

Three local residents were recently a part of a unique piece of history that has many local bird enthusiasts beaming.

Captain David Goethel, a Hampton resident, and Mate Mike Emerson, a Seabrook resident, were hauling in the net of their fishing vessel, the Ellen Diane, with Goethel's wife Ellen on Dec. 21 when the trio spotted a brown pelican in the water.

Brown pelicans aren't typically found in northern waters, and New Hampshire birder Steve Mirick said records show only three prior local sightings — two of which he said are over 100 years old — for the species.

The fishermen sighted the pelican in an area known as The Cove, located in Massachusetts waters due east of Plum Island. 

Ellen Goethel, a marine biologist and the woman behind the Explore the Ocean World oceanarium at Hampton Beach, described the lengthy encounter with the pelican as follows in a Dec. 21 e-mail to Mirick:

"I thought that you might be interested in these photos. This afternoon 
David and his mate, Mike Emerson of Seabrook were hauling in the net and 
noticed that they had an audience. A very unusual seabird was waiting in 
the water as they hauled their net. The seabird appears to be a brown 
pelican from southern climes. The pelican spent the better part of the 
afternoon exploring the Fishing Vessel Ellen Diane and munching down on 
their catch. The crew enjoyed the company but the Pelican decided he'd 
filled his bill and flew off over the Gulf of Maine. Hopefully he is 
headed south before the storm hits."