Dead Birds - Seagulls, Puffins, Murres

Observation: There has been a number of dead herring gulls seen around town. The ones I have seen do not have any animal attack marks. Not sure of the reason why they are dying. We have a lot of dogs and they appear to be eating or playing with them. Everything moves up the food chain, we do have a lot to worry about because some people eat food from the land. We've passed on the report to Bruce Wright with the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association; currently working on getting samples of the birds. Dorothea Berntsen, Belkofski Tribe, Environmental Department

Update: I've counted 30 (bird), majority are herring gulls, some puffins and some type of loon (i think). I have not seen any dead eagles just cause i know they eat smaller birds. I've contacted Bruce Wright and I have samples for him, 2 herring gulls, 1 puffin and 1 type of loon. (2015-07-22)

LEO says: This post has been forwarded to Andy Ramey, Research Wildlife Geneticist, USGS and Bruce Wright, Senior Scientist for the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association. The cause of the bird die-offs is currently being investigated by several agencies. A recent article by Alaska Public Media discussed the die-offs in the Homer area. The leading theory on a cause of mortality is food related. Leslie Slater the Gulf of Alaska Unit Biologist for the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge says there are a lot of potential reasons for the increase in fatalities but the prevailing cause is likely tied to the birds’ food sources." To read more of the article click here. Please see story posted September 15, 2015 in Alaska Public Media

Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association Consult: Bruce Wright: "During the last 10 days I have received reports of dead and dying whales, gulls and forage fish (sand lance) from the False Pass and King Cove areas in the eastern Aleutian Islands and Adak in the western Aleutian Islands. The last time large numbers of gulls were reported dying in this region was about 20 years ago in the Sand Point (also eastern Aleutian Islands) area. During that event, windrows of dead sand lance were observed on local beaches. Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) is suspected in causing this event, but another harmful algal bloom toxin, domoic acid (DA), could be involved (see link). Be aware that a significant PSP or domoic acid event may be occurring in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Shellfish harvesters should be advised that PSP and DA is a serious health risk when consuming personally harvested shellfish. Crabs feeding on toxic mussels, clams or fish (sand lance) can accumulate PSP toxin in their digestive system, so I recommend that before cooking, remove the back shell of the crab and clean out all the dark soft tissues that comprise the digestive system and crab butter. The same may be true for shrimp; the coon-stripe shrimp I sampled in the Haines area in 2014 had elevated PSP levels in their viscera (guts). Bivalves (clams, mussels, oysters, scallops) sold at wholesale and retail markets require PSP testing and are considered safe for human consumption, but crabs or shrimp are not regularly tested for PSP.  If you encounter dead or dying sand lance please collect a Ziploc bag full, freeze and contact me (see attachment). Also alert me if you observe sand lance predators such as gulls, eagles, foxes, bears, whales acting sick or dead in coastal Alaska."

Photos

By Dorothea Berntsen, to view larger images go to the Flickr URL

Photo 1. Murre

Photo 2. Puffin

Photo 3. Gull