Another bird die off

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- Anna Webb

[Paranormal_Research] Fw: Another bird die off

 

Here is an article about a massive bird die-off taking place in the Pacific Ocean.

Anna

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http://story.news./news?tmpl=story & cid=624 & ncid=753 & e=10 & u=/ap/20031205/ap_on_sc/dead_birds

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bird Die-Off in Ore. Puzzles Experts

 

 

 

 

Fri Dec 5,12:39 PM ET

 

 

 

 

 

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LINCOLN CITY, Ore. - Thousands of dead birds have washed up on West Coast beaches this fall in a die-off that has stumped experts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The birds are northern fulmars (a smaller cousin of the Albatross) and beachgoers in Lincoln County have counted more than 400 dead ones this fall.

In Clatsop County, where dozens of dead fulmars washed ashore, more than 200 of the weakened birds have been taken to a wildlife rehabilitation center.

The fulmars spend most of their time at sea, so it could mean massive numbers are dead in the ocean, said Scott Hatch, a research biologist in Anchorage, Alaska.

And experts don't know why. Some worry that man-made causes, such as plastic or toxins are to blame. Others dismiss the die-off as cyclical. But this year's death toll dwarfs any other on record in Oregon.

"I think it's going to be tough to find the smoking gun," said Roy Lowe, refuge director for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Bob Loeffel of Newport has tracked the number of dead birds on the Lincoln County beach for 26 years. He said this year's die-off shattered his previously recorded high of 172 in 1995.

The birds that Loeffel and others have found have been severely emaciated, likely caused by starvation. They are also young, most of them under a year old.

The youngest birds typically have the toughest time migrating south from Alaska this time of year. But this die-off is severe enough to suggest that something else is going on.

Researchers in California have performed necropsies on 178 dead fulmars. Ninety-six percent were born last summer, Lowe said. That indicates it isn't caused by disease, which would affect birds of all ages.

Sharnelle Fee, director of the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of the North Coast near Astoria, blames plastic.

"I've had adult (fulmars) come in and their stomachs were jammed full of plastic. There's no room for fish."

Lowe, however, said not enough is known about the birds in general to establish a reason for the die-off.

"The ocean is so vast that we're picking at the edges to figure out what's going on." «¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»Paranormal_Research - Scientific Data & Health Conspiracies Paranormal_ResearchSubscribe:... Paranormal_Research-