Seabird Die-Off

Location: Alaska

Project Description: This project includes observations of seabird die-offs as reported by local observers.

Funding: Supported by partners

Partners: USFWS, COASST, One Health Group

Observing Guidance: Monitor the abundance of the die-offs in an identified area over successive days. Use the COASST Protocol for a detailed survey. You can augment this with photos of each bird and a picture of all dead birds counted and gathered. Use the LEO Reporter App to get GPS locations and photos and to provide a general description of the event. The photos allow for confirmation and identification. Freezing the specimens is also a good idea so that they are available for later analysis. Choose the freshest and most intact specimens. Place them into a ziplock bag and label the bag including time date and location of collection. To become an active shorebird observer see COASST link (above).

Source Data: LEO Network observations. Potential also for COASST and USFWS observations and data.

Outputs: Inclusion in project maps, date trends (pending), consultations and updates.

Updates:

Resources:

Report unusual numbers of sick or dead birds to:

1-866-527-3358 or email AK_MBM@fws.gov

Please provide:

• Time & Date
• Location (GPS coordinates, beach length walked)
• Type/species & number of birds (count or estimate for each)
• Photos (see above; include scale if possible)
• Videos of live birds displaying unusual behaviors (lethargic, drooping head and wings, etc.)

Alaska Seabird Information Series (ASIS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Management, Nongame Program. Denlinger, L.M. 2006. Nongame Program, Anchorage, AK.

Participate in monitoring efforts on your local beaches:

The Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST) provides training in how to identify birds and collect data that are shared with researchers and resource management agencies. Visit www.coasst.org to learn more or contact COASST at 1-206-221-6893 or email coasst@uw.edu. School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington // COASST Blog // COASST Toolbox

Press:

• Dead and Dying Seabirds – Seward Peninsula to Pribilof Islands – "Dead and dying seabirds have been reported from Shishmaref south to the Pribilof Islands. First responders in coastal communities, with the USFWS, Aleut Community of St. Paul Island Ecosystem Conservation Office (ACSPI ECO), Kawerak, Inc., Alaska Sea Grant program and others have counted nearly 800 beached seabird carcasses since early August 2017, including northern fulmars, shearwaters, and kittiwakes. Murres and auklets have also been reported." Source: USFWS Alaska Region, Migratory Bird Management. Anchorage AK. (August 2017)

• Alaska Murre Update – "By now, you’ve likely heard the news of the startlingly high number of Com­mon Mur­res wash­ing ashore in Prince William Sound and beyond, as well as the reports of mur­res flying inland to the Mat-Su and elsewhere. In fact, many of you have been out there on affected beaches in Homer, Seward and elsewhere counting the bodies and collecting our baseline data. Thank you for those efforts, and particularly during the dead of winter..." and

• 2015 in review: Murres on the Beach – "Goodbye 2015! You were a strange year for the North Pacific: “the blob” stuck around, elevated numbers of Common Mur­res washed-in throughout the COASST range, harmful algal blooms, and lets not forget the Cassin’s Auk­let wreck last winter. What does it all mean?" (M. Brubaker, M. Tcheripanoff)

(2016-01-15) Alaska Public Media - Dead murres wash upon Haines' beach - "More than a dozen dead common murres washed up on the beach in front of Haines on Tuesday, part of an unsettling trend happening across the state. Rob Kaler is a biologist specializing in seabirds with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Migratory Bird Management division. He says in the past few weeks alone the conservative estimate for dead murres washing up on Alaska shores is up to 10,000. Biologist Kaler encourages anyone who sees dead birds to report them to ak_mbm@fws.gov or call the hotline at 866-527-3358."

(2016-01-22) KUAC FM 89.9 - Researchers: 'Blob' of Unusually Warm Ocean Water May be Causing Seabirds to Starve, "Thousands of the dead seabirds have been washing ashore along the state’s coasts over the past several months. And Alaska Audubon spokeswoman Beth Peluso says hundreds of weak and emaciated murres have been spotted elsewhere around the state in areas they’re not known to frequent."