Pelican Harbor Seabird Station: How to Visit and Help

What Pelican Harbor Seabird Station does

The station began in 1980, when Harry and Darlene Kelton moved their houseboat to Pelican Harbor Marina, found a brown pelican hurt by a fishhook and nursed it back to health. Their first clinic was a tool shed. Miami-Dade County built the current station in 1992.

Today it’s a nonprofit wildlife hospital that runs on donations and treats far more than pelicans. It accepts native birds, mammals and reptiles, and says it sees more than 2,700 animals a year and releases over 65% of the patients it treats. It also says more than 75% of the injuries it treats come from human activity, such as car strikes, hooks and fishing line, and window collisions.

How to visit: self-guided or a free Saturday tour

You’ll find the station inside Pelican Harbor Marina on the 79th Street Causeway. Its website lists the address as 1279 NE 79th Street Causeway, Miami, FL 33138. If you’re coming from the Upper Eastside, our nearby page shows how close it sits to the corridor.

The station’s free public tours page covers two easy options:

• Self-guided visits, daily. Walk past the habitats on your own. QR codes on the signs open an optional audio tour about the patients, the permanent residents and the station’s history.
• Free guided tour, Saturdays at 11 a.m. It’s capped at 20 guests, and you need to RSVP at least 24 hours ahead using the form on that page.

Keep your voice low and skip the flash. These are wild animals in recovery, and they scare easily. The station closes early on July 4, Thanksgiving Day and December 25, so check hours before you go.

Behind-the-scenes tours, sunset cruises and evening talks

For a closer look, the station offers private behind-the-scenes tours with a guide, a meeting with an ambassador animal and, when possible, a pelican feeding. They run Tuesday through Saturday, last 45 to 60 minutes and must be requested three weeks in advance. The current rate is $100 per tour for up to 10 guests.

Its two-hour seabird cruises head out on Biscayne Bay to watch pelicans and frigatebirds return to roost at a rookery, then continue on to sights such as Stiltsville or the Miami River. Binoculars are provided, and you can bring a travel-size snack or drink. Upcoming dates include a Nov. 13 sunset cruise, a Nov. 28 Thanksgiving Weekend Tour & Cruise and a Dec. 11 sunset cruise, all from Pelican Harbor Marina. The Dec. 20 holiday cruise leaves from Crandon Park Marina instead, so read each listing carefully. Our November events roundup has more on what’s happening nearby.

There’s also a monthly speaker series with an RSVP. “Meet the Croc Doc,” on invasive crocodilians, is set for Nov. 11, followed by Birding 101 with Tropical Audubon’s DJ Mlodozeniec on Dec. 9. Confirm the location when you sign up.

If you find an injured bird or animal

Call or text the station at 305-751-9840 for guidance. Its wildlife emergency page walks you through the rest, and these are the key points:

• Cover and contain. For most small birds and animals, drape a towel over the animal, covering the eyes, and place it gently in a cardboard box with air holes.
• No food or water. The station warns that either can cause choking or other harm.
• Keep it dark, warm and quiet. Don’t hold or pet the animal. Stress is a major cause of death for injured wildlife.
• Bring it in quickly. The station has 24-hour drop-off cages for after-hours emergencies. With its move under way (more below), call or text first to confirm where to go.

Ways to help the station

Volunteer. The station says there’s a place for any skill level. Outdoor Rehabilitation, feeding patients and enriching their days, is the usual starting point. There’s also Operation Rescue & Release for people who need a flexible schedule, Education & Outreach for people persons, and Maintenance & Fabrication for anyone handy with a drill. New volunteers go through an orientation and pay a volunteer fee, so email [email protected] with questions.

Donate. The station is funded by donations, and it’s still raising money for its new hospital. Its shirts and gifts are also offered in exchange for a donation.

Mind your fishing line. The station counted 55 trapped or entangled animals in 2024, often from line and hooks, and most of the five pelicans it released at South Pointe Park this April came in with those injuries. If you fish, take your hooks and line home with you.

A bigger hospital on the Little River

Big changes are coming, and they’ll bring the station even closer to the neighborhood. Its current hospital is just 950 square feet. In November 2024 it broke ground on a new Wildlife Hospital & Education Center off NE 82nd Street, on the south bank of the Little River. The station says the property is 14 times larger than its current site, with nine specialized rooms, including an ICU and bird and mammal nurseries, plus exhibits and a nature path.

According to its Give Miami Day page, the project reached substantial completion in May, the team moved in and performed its first surgery there, on a brown pelican, and the station plans to open to the public before the end of 2026. Meanwhile, Miami Today reported in June that a county committee recommended letting the station keep using the marina site until April 1, 2027, to give it time to move.

As of today, the station’s tour, contact and event pages still point visitors to the causeway. That could change quickly, so check its website the day you plan to go.

Make a morning of it at Pelican Harbor

The county’s marina next door lists parking, restrooms, a fishing pier and a bait and tackle store, so it’s an easy stop. If you have a boat, you can also head to Pelican Island, a 10-acre public island with picnic shelters and grills.

For lunch, keep going east along the causeway to North Bay Village, or head back to 79th Street. Our local directory lists places to eat around the corridor, including two causeway additions this week. Our guide to things to do near NE 79th Street has more ideas for the rest of the day, and our ZIP code guide helps you get your bearings.

Frequently asked questions