Multiple passengers on board were able to view and photograph the bird. This is the 3rd record for the province of BC.
About 20 to 30 medium-sized birds with black backs and white bellies were found spaced out along the entire beach of the island.
This is the 6th observation on this topic received in LEO Network from Southwest Alaska since July 22, 2019.
More than 50 birds and a seal were found along the shoreline.
Residents posted photos of the bird on social media this week, remarking on the unusual sighting and sharing pictures of the animal perched and in flight. The bird, known for its dark plumage and black, featherless head, is typically a southern species, concentrated around Mexico, parts of Arizona, Eastern Texas and the East Coast. It’s rarely spotted in the Midwest or West Coast.
"Since the last eruption event, most seabird species that previously nested on the island have returned and made attempts to breed again...but the habitat is currently not ideal."
Nine short-tailed shearwaters (Ardenna tenuirostris) were seen floating in the Kuskokwim river, directly in front of Bethel. The birds were acting disoriented and farther up the Kuskokwim than normal.
"I discovered possibly 43 seabirds and may have missed more on August 3, 2019, just on the southwest side and did not go further on southeast side of our beach. Not sure, maybe they died of hunger."
"Within a week we saw thousands of shearwaters along the beaches, and witnessed hundreds dead. They would sit on the tideline unable to walk, foraging on dead fish that had washed ashore and trying to feed on the fish in the nets of the set net sites as well."
The timing coincides with other sea bird deaths reported in St. Paul Island, Pilot Point, and Ugashik.
The bird flew in on the mudflats at high tide and joined a small flock of Western Sandpipers. This is the second record for the province of BC.
“Last year we got several reports from tourists and scientists that they saw around six walruses dead here on the west side of Svalbard. Unfortunately, we couldn’t sample them as the dead walruses drifted away by the time we got to the place. But it’s not normal to get so many reported dead walruses in such a small area," said Christian Lydersen, senior scientist at the Norwegian Polar Institute. Now samples (collected by a Station Manager in July 2023) have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza.
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