Brown pelicans rescued from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill last year are now nesting along Georgia’s shores.

Over 100 pelicans were released in Georgia after being captured and cleaned. At least 25 have returned this spring.

Georgia Department of Natural Resources biologist Tim Keyes has documented several nests with chicks that have at least one parent from the Gulf, and says the young birds are doing well.

“We’ll be visiting each of the eight nests weekly and monitoring the chicks, hopefully to the point we can say if they successfully fledged,” he said.

Chuck Hunter of US Fish and Wildlife however cautioned it’s too early to know what the oil spills full impact on the birds.

“These birds, no matter how clean, likely still have some oil in their internal systems” Hunter said, adding “Females especially may pass this contaminant on to the chicks.”

The birds are reproducing however, and that alone is a positive sign said Hunter.

While over 1,200 birds were relocated last year following the oil spill, at least 7,000 birds were found dead due to the oil.