US - Bird carcasses along Pacific shore baffle biologists

[sharon sanders]

Sep 25, 2014 9:36 PM by Amanda Starrantino, KSBY News

Large number of dead birds found on Pismo Beach

If you make a trip to Pismo Beach you may find more than just sand and seaweed on your walk.

Locals and tourists have been noticing a lot of dead sea birds lining the coast, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife warn they could be a hazard to your pets and children

more....

http://www.ksby.com/news/large-numbe...n-pismo-beach/

[sharon sanders]

Bird carcasses along Pacific shore baffle biologists



By JAVIER PANZAR

snip

The University of Washington's Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team has seen more than 1,200 bodies wash ashore since fall began.

Executive Director Julia Parrish thinks that is only a small fraction of the total number of dead birds. It is probably in the tens of thousands, she said.probably in the tens of thousands, she said.

more...

http://www.latimes.com/science/la-na...103-story.html

[Pathfinder]

ODFW monitoring seabird die-off on Oregon coast

Jan. 6, 2015

Cassins Auklet at Driftwood Beach January 1, 2014. -Photo by Bethan Jones-

TILLAMOOK, Ore. – Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists are investigating the deaths of large numbers of seabirds along the Pacific coast in the wake of harsh winter weather the past several weeks.
Common murres and Cassin’s auklets have been showing up dead on coast beaches in greater numbers than usual. Preliminary information obtained through necropsies conducted at ODFW’s pathology lab in Corvallis indicate the birds are extremely emaciated, likely related to exhaustion and starvation caused by exposure to cold temperatures and heavy wind.
“The birds washing up on the beach seem to be starved and beaten up by the storms,” said Herman Biederbeck, ODFW biologist in Tillamook. “We have seabird die-offs in the fall and early winter every year but this year we’re seeing elevated numbers.”
The seabird die-off is not just happening on Oregon’s coast. Seabird mortality has been observed from as far south as California to as far north as British Columbia, leading some researchers to believe the die-off is the result of an unusually large hatch of young birds last spring, followed by harsh weather.
Colored zip ties have been affixed to some dead birds by researchers from the University of Washington as part of a seabird mortality study, according to Biederbeck.
Though there is little risk to humans, people who encounter dead seabirds on the beach should not touch or move them. ODFW is asking beach walkers who find large concentrations of dead birds that have not been marked with colored zip ties to call their whereabouts in to their local ODFW field office or the wildlife health hotline at (866) 968-2600.

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/news/2015/january/010615.asp