Bird deaths continue; cause still uncertain

FOR THE RECORD

The subheadline on Friday’s story, “Bird deaths continue; cause still uncertain,” should have said a toxin killed one bird. It’s unclear whether others were poisoned by domoic acid. A Feb. 10 story, “Nest is up to ospreys,” should have said Jeff Stoddard is a state Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist.

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A rash of dead and dying birds found around the Santa Ana River mouth since Feb. 4 may have slowed, though several more birds were discovered Thursday.

Animal care workers at the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach have seen 53 birds in the last 12 days, either suffering seizures or killed.

A dead California gull and a live heron and killdeer were found Thursday, bringing the total birds brought in alive to 12, though most have since died, said Lisa Birkle, the center’s assistant wildlife director. The birds have been found between the Newport and Huntington piers.

When no birds had been found early Thursday, “We were pretty excited that things were going to gear down,” Birkle said.

Preliminary test results from a dead bird showed it may have been poisoned by domoic acid, which comes from algae. Three other birds, which were brought in alive and seizing, did not show signs of the toxin, Birkle said.

Investigators do not believe that all the birds that came in were sick because of domoic acid.

The wildlife center is still awaiting test results that officials hope will shed more light on what happened to the birds. While seizures are common when birds have domoic acid poisoning, wildlife center workers said necropsies on dead birds didn’t show other symptoms of domoic acid.

As of Wednesday, the Orange County Health Care Agency wasn’t reporting high bacteria levels near where the birds were found, and no beaches were closed. The wildlife center was also testing the water.

Newport Beach Animal Control Officer Mike Teague said in the last couple of weeks he’s seen “at least a dozen” dead cormorants, but he’s also puzzled as to the cause.

He generally finds dead birds after a major storm, he said, but there haven’t been any in recent months.

— Amanda Pennington contributed to this report.