Mysterious bird deaths along coast taper off

KIAWAH ISLAND--The mysterious deaths of sea birds found along the South Carolina coast appear to have ended as abruptly as they began. Four dead birds were reported over the weekend to the state after 150 were reported last week. The four birds apparently died earlier in the week, said Al Segars, a state Department of Natural Resources veterinarian. None were reported Monday. "At this point, it seems to have tailed off," he said. The birds were mostly greater shearwaters, not often seen by beachgoers. They migrate yearly from South America to the Northeast whale grounds and stay offshore. They settle on the water in flocks of 50 or 100, and their name comes from flying along the water's surface to scoop up food. Whatever killed them doesn't seem to have affected the familiar shorebirds such as pelicans, gulls or terns. Birds were found sick or dead along beaches from Hilton Head to Myrtle Beach. As many as 70 were found on Kiawah Island. Seventeen were reported on Edisto Beach, two on Capers Island and three on Folly Beach. Reports also came from Georgia and North Carolina. Kiawah wildlife biologist Jim Jordan began taking calls the morning of June 13 from beachfront residents, workers and vacationers about clumps of the birds. By noon he and other workers had recovered 29 birds but couldn't do anything to save them. Most died within an hour or two. He said he had never seen anything like it. "We're very curious to see what happened." Segars said he expects to have initial test results on the birds by midweek. He suspects the die-off might have been birds simply "running out of gas" and running into bad weather on the long trek north. The shearwaters have died in numbers before along the Atlantic Flyway; 150 found on the Outer Banks in North Carolina in 1995 were found to have been emaciated. "It's not at all unheard of," said Norm Brunswig of the National Audubon Society. "There's probably no time in a bird's life when it's more vulnerable than during migration." A squall or a bad storm can be enough to bring down exhausted birds, he said

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