A "wayward" brown pelican blown off its migration path was rescued in Erie. 

The Tamarack Wildlife Center in Crawford County said in a Facebook post that the call came in Friday for a brown pelican in the Erie area that was lethargic and possibly stuck in ice. Temperatures had plummeted, and the wildlife center quickly organized a response, using a kayak and net to capture the bird. 

The rescue said an examination showed that the bird is in critical condition. It's dehydrated, critically underweight and has frostbite and wounds on its feet. Since pelicans metabolize medications differently than other species, Tamarack said they'll have to make adjustments, but they wrote, "It is a privilege to treat this unusual patient." 

The wildlife rescue said the "wayward" brown pelican was noticed in Erie a few weeks ago after a storm. Erie isn't a typical winter location for pelicans, but they do sometimes show up after being blown off course during migration. 

Pelicans don't do well in cold weather, but Tamarack said it's not legal for a rehabilitator to capture a wild animal just because it's found outside its normal range. It's also not usually possible to capture a flighted bird, so rescuers had to wait to respond until the bird was showing medical issues. 

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, brown pelicans are found on the southern coasts of the U.S. They nearly disappeared from North America in the 60s and 70s because of DDT, but the species made a full comeback thanks to pesticide regulations.