Short-tailed Shearwaters (Ardenna tenuirostris) Found on Chukchi Sea Beach

Observation by Janet Mitchell:

On August 9, local resident Frances Douglas observed a slew of birds washed up along the Chukchi Sea shoreline on the 8-mile barrier reef called Kivalina. On August 11, after the weather cleared, I rode along the same shoreline and saw that after the weekend storm, more birds had washed up. Frances' original count was over 20. My count was over 50 by Sunday, along with a dead seal. It hadn't been dead for too long as the hair on the skin was still intact.

Kathy Kuletz, Seabird Coordinator with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, writes:

Can Janet provide an estimate of the length of beach she traveled when counting 50 birds? Can we assume it was the full 8 miles of shoreline for that barrier island? Also - did all the birds appear to be the same kind (short-tailed shearwater)?

Janet Mitchell comments:

The birds were within a 5-mile radius near the airstrip. They all appeared to be the same type of bird. The birds that Frances counted were 6-7' from the shoreline, and the ones that I counted were 3' from the shoreline.  Shared over the phone with Erica Lujan

Comments from LEO Editors:

This observation has been shared with US Fish and Wildlife (USFWS), the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST), and with the Bering Sea Marine Advisory Program.

The USFWS is collaborating with state, federal, and tribal partners, as well as local community observers, to document observations of dead seabirds along the coast. Seabird deaths have become more common in Alaska since 2015. This year, murres and puffins were found along the coast of the northern Bering and Chukchi seas beginning in May. In June, shearwaters were documented along the coast of Bristol Bay, near Togiak, Naknek, Egegik, Pilot Point, and Port Heiden.

The LEO Network will pass on all observations of dead seabirds to the USFWS and COASST. Observers can also report observations of sick or dead birds to regional partners:

• North Slope: Taqulik Hepa (907) 852-0350
• Northwest Arctic: Cyrus Harris (907) 442-7914 
• Bering Strait Region: Brandon Ahmasuk (907) 443-4265 or Gay Sheffield (907) 434-1149
• Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta: Jennifer Hooper (907) 543-7470 
• Bristol Bay: Gayla Hoseth (907) 842-6252 
• Pribilof Islands: Lauren Divine (907) 257-891-3031 
• Unalaska: Melissa Good (907) 581-1876 
• Aleutians: Karen Pletnikoff (907) 222-4286

Or report by phone or email to the USFWS: 1-866-527-3358 or AK_MBM@FWS.GOV

Erica Lujan