Hundreds Of Dead Seabirds Washing Ashore In Oregon

[hatrack]

"Beachcombers strolling Oregon's scenic shores may encounter a disturbing sight this month: hundreds of dead birds. Common murres, Oregon's most abundant nesting seabird, are washing ashore either severely weakened or dead. Most are young murres that haven't fledged, although some are adults.

Experts say the deaths appear to be from natural causes, affecting only murres. The die-off, centered between Astoria and Cape Meares near Tillamook, is one of the most severe in recent years. An abundant number of juveniles, combined with a possible offshore food shortage that is bringing the birds nearer to the coast, may account for the high number of birds washed up on beaches.

"It's not unusual for us to periodically have these mortality events at this time of year, and they sometimes can be pretty intensive," said Roy Lowe, a biologist with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. "At times in the past, we've had 100 birds per mile of beach."

EDIT

The last substantial die-offs of young murres were in 1995 and 1999, said Lowe. "In the late 1980s and early 1990s, we were seeing big losses of murre chicks annually. They were producing lots of young, and they were losing a lot." An estimated 700,000 of the deep-diving birds -- about two-thirds of the eastern Pacific's population below Alaska -- live along Oregon's rocky coast in the summer, so the die-off isn't expected to make a substantial dent in their numbers."

EDIT

[Soloflecks]

1. Wouldn't it be related to this....

http://www.evworld.com/view.cfm?section=communique&newsid=6278

"CORVALLIS, Ore. – For the second time in three years, a hypoxic "dead zone" has formed off the central Oregon Coast. It's killing fish, crabs and other marine life and leading researchers to believe that a fundamental change may be taking place in ocean conditions in the northern Pacific Ocean."

[sandnsea]

2. Crab are dying in hoards

At Devil's Elbow, there's hundreds of dead crab washing up on the beach. That would be the "south of Yachats" in this article I guess. I hope this is just a weird weather pattern, but I suspect it might have something to do with that article on gasses falling into the ocean and slowing the climate change problems. Not good.