What's Wrong with our Wildlife, Part II?
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| In addition, large numbers of dead and dying birds have been sighted in the Bahamas (sea gulls) and in Costa Rica (Pelicans). Others were sighted in Texas |
State and federal wildlife officials are investigating even more deaths of hundreds of seabirds turning up on the coasts of South Carolina (SC), Georgia (GA), and Florida (FL).
Wildlife biologists say more than 1000 shearwaters -- large, gull-like water birds that spend most of their lives far offshore until they nest -- have been found dead over the past 2 weeks on southeastern beaches. Officials remain uncertain about what's causing the mass casualties, but they say most of the birds recovered, seem to have died of dehydration and malnutrition during migration. "Most shearwater carcasses recovered in South Carolina appear to be those of juvenile birds," said Craig Watson, a wildlife biologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Charleston. "A small percentage has been found alive. For some reason, these birds are dying, and most think it's due to starvation," he said. "Whatever the reason, this appears to be pretty significant; we just don't know how significant yet."
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Surveillance for Wild Bird Die-offs The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission is cooperatively working with the Florida Department of Health on a wild bird mortality database. This project was initiated to support surveillance for bird die-offs and aids in monitoring for Avian Influenza (AI) and West Nile Virus (WNV). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has additional information concerning WNV. Please see our web page for links and information concerning AI. |
Biologists from the southeastern states are working with federal agents to collect, tabulate and test bird carcasses to determine a cause. Preliminary findings in Georgia and Florida indicate no pathogen or disease including West Nile virus or avian influenza is involved in the deaths, biologists said.
The problem surfaced in Florida about 2 weeks ago, and it's worked its way north since then, biologists said. So far, more than 600 dead shearwaters have washed ashore in Florida, and at least 100 were reported in Georgia.
The only common factor is that most of the birds are emaciated, said Dr. Al Segars, a SC Department of Natural Resources veterinarian who's helping to coordinate efforts to collect carcasses.
A similar die-off was reported in 2005, when dead birds washed up on beaches from Florida to Virginia. "It's not uncommon for some of these birds to die off during migration, but the numbers here are significant enough to cause alarm with natural-resources people internationally," said Jennifer Koches, a spokeswoman for the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Charleston. "No bird can sustain this type of die-off year after year."
The SC Department of Natural Resources requests that people who find a dead or sick shorebird: - record the location, date, time, and species found and send information to Dr. Al Segars at <segarsa@dnr.sc.gov>. Leave the bird where it was found. - if live birds are found, do not attempt to catch or handle. Seabirds can inflict stabbing injuries. Attempting to handle them also can cause the bird to injure itself.
Greater shearwaters are gull-like in appearance, reaching 17 to 20 inches (43-51 cm) in body length with a 3- to 4-foot (0.9-1 m) wingspan. Adults weigh about 2 pounds (0.9 kg). Their bodies are mostly brown in color with a white underbelly and neck. The birds have black, hooked bills with visible nostrils, pink webbed feet, and dark spots just under the wing. Shearwaters breed in the Southern Hemisphere at a group of isolated islands between southern South America and Africa called Tristan da Cunha. Each year, they migrate more than 7500 miles (about 12000 km) to portions of North America, including northern New England states and Canada and farther north near Greenland.
Shearwaters spend most of their lives far offshore and are rarely seen in South Carolina. The birds fly close to the ocean with stiff wings and few wing beats. They feed on squid and other fish, which they catch from the surface or by plunge diving.