Seabird deaths are rising along the California coast—and scientists say starvation, not disease, is largely to blame.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has been tracking an increase in deaths among
Brandt’s cormorants, common murres, and brown pelicans since last summer, which breed on offshore rocks and islands. Numbers have spiked in recent months along California’s central and southern coasts. While avian flu was an early concern, testing has ruled it out in most cases.
Instead, experts point to a different problem: too many young birds, and not enough food.
Senior environmental scientist Krysta Rogers says last year was a strong breeding season. But once those juveniles are on their own, competing for food becomes more of a challenge along with other factors..
"they molt their feathers, they have to evade predators, they have to endure winter storms, those can all take a toll on a young bird."
Rogers says she'll be keeping a close watch for warning signs like the age of the birds and a shift in species being reported.
"including if more marine mammals are being reported, that may signal that there's perhaps a harmful algal bloom that is starting up because that tends to impact a diversity of seabird species and marine mammals, both adults and juveniles."
If you see sick or dead birds, don't touch them. Officials ask you to report them online or contact a local wildlife rehabilitation center.