FWP looks into coot deaths

[Mingus]

**** There is no H5N1 test result ****

http://www.montanaforum.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=6084&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

FWP looks into coot deaths
Posted Oct 12, 2006 - 08:51 AM <!-- <hr size="1"> -->
Associated Press

ANACONDA - The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks is investigating the deaths of several hundred coots at Georgetown Lake, west of here.

FWP officials say it's too soon to say what killed the aquatic birds, but the deaths are similar to a 1997 kill that was blamed, in part, on parasites. The agency received a report of dead birds at the lake on Sept. 29, said Rose Jaffe, avian influenza surveillance project coordinator in Bozeman.

Last week, Jaffe removed 266 coot carcasses from the lake. Nine others were out of reach, she said, and more have since accumulated along the shoreline.
The dead birds Jaffe collected were sent to the National Wildlife Health Center Lab in Wisconsin for examination. The results are expected in about two weeks, she said.

It appears that whatever malady caused the deaths may not have affected other birds, Jaffe said.

"The only species that I saw were American coots," she said.

She added that there's no reason to believe the deaths are connected to the bird flu virus. Many wild shore birds and waterfowl tested so far bore no trace of the disease.

"Of 1,000 samples from all across Montana, there's no sign of the highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza," Jaffe said Tuesday.

It's not the first mass death of American coots at Georgetown Lake, FWP information officer Vivaca Crowser said Tuesday. A large number of the dark, ducklike birds, which migrate through the area each year, turned up dead a decade ago.

Back then, the deaths stumped biologists in two states; however, one FWP official theorized that the birds fell ill because of sphaeridiotrema globulus, a tiny intestinal fluke that is harbored in snail shells.

After bottom-feeding coots eat the snails, the parasite feeds on their innards, causing enteritis that kills the birds.

[hawkeye]

Re: FWP looks into coot deaths

For those that dont' know what a "coot" is (I sure didn't)

[Mingus]

Re: FWP looks into coot deaths

Good idea Hawkeye, was'nt sure too.

here from wikkipedia
________________________________
American Coot

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


The American Coot (Fulica americana) is a large waterbird, of the family Rallidae.
Adults have a short thick white bill and white frontal shield, with a reddish-brown spot near the base of the bill between the eyes. The body is grey with the head and neck darker than the rest of the body. Their legs are yellowish, with scalloped toes rather than webbed feet. Their chicks have black bodies with bright red head and beak, and orange plumes around the neck.
Their breeding habitat is marshes from southern Quebec to the Pacific coast of North America and as far south as northern South America. They nest in a well-concealed location in tall reeds. They are frequently seen swimming in open water.
They migrate from northern locations to the southern United States and southern British Columbia. They are often year-round residents where water remains open in winter.
These birds can dive for food but can also forage on land. They are omnivorous, eating plant material, insects, fish, and other aquatic animals. Their call is a high-pitched squeaking honk somewhat like a goose's but more hollow sounding.
American coots are highly territorial during the breeding season, with both males and females fighting with neighbors to maintain a small territory where they obtain all their food. The females are known to lay eggs in neighbors' nests (conspecific brood parasitism); contrary to what one might expect, this behavior is more common among females which already have a nest than among those which were not able to secure a suitable territory for breeding in that season (Lyon, 1993).

Coots gather together in the waters of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.


These chunky birds require a great deal of effort to become airborne, pedaling across the water with their feet before lifting off. The way in which their heads bob when they walk or swim has earned them the name "mud hen".
Although coots seem rather weak fliers, like most rails they have considerable stamina once airborne. This species has crossed the Atlantic to reach western Europe at least 23 times since records began, including 12 records in the Azores and four in Great Britain. In December 2003, an individual of this species attempted to overwinter in the Shetland Islands, Scotland.
Coot fossils from the Middle Pleistocene of California have been described as Fulica hesterna, but cannot be separated from the present-day American Coot (Olson, 1974). On the other hand, the Pleistocene coot Fulica shufeldti (formerly F. minor) quite possibly was a paleosubspecies of the American Coot (as Fulica americana shufeldti), only differing slightly in size (Jehl, 1967).