Birds of play: Meet all 45 'painted pelicans' of Seabrook

SEABROOK, Texas (KTRK) -- Standing around 6 feet tall, the painted pelicans of Seabrook have brightened up the coastal community.

Pelican Path was created in 2001 by local residents, and the city took over the project in 2016. It's been expanding ever since.

"There's currently over 45 pelicans throughout town," said LeaAnn Petersen of the City of Seabrook. "They're painted by local artists, they're bright and colorful and larger than life. So this is really a promotion of the arts project."

Some of the pelicans are purchased by local businesses and painted to accommodate the company's requests. One of them was designed to look like an astronaut. Others include a whimsical ocean themed pelican by the city's splash pad. Over by the library, Pelican Pearl's message is clear: reading is fundamental.

"There's 14 miles of hiking/bike trails throughout the city, connecting all of our parks. Whenever you check out the trails, you're definitely going to run into a few of the pelicans," Petersen said.

Artist Debi Starr has painted 14 of the pelicans.

"I like seeing them around town. I like that they're giving back to the community, to beautify the parks and splash pads and gardens, wherever they happen to be. I think that they give the city and the community character," said Starr.

Think you can find all of the pelicans? Seabrook is currently working on an interactive map to help pelican explorers. You can visit the Seabrook Pelicans website to learn more about their locations and the artists behind them.

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