CITY FOCUS:

Animal care workers confirmed Wednesday that an outbreak of paralyzed and dead birds that washed up on the shore of Huntington State Beach north of the Santa Ana River was caused by avian botulism.

“It’s botulism type C, normally found in lakes and ponds and waterfowl,” said Debbie McGuire, wildlife director of the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center. “What it’s doing out in the ocean I don’t know.”

Four survivors were released into the wild from the center Friday. The three sanderlings and one western snowy plover were the only survivors of the botulism outbreak that killed 35 others the week before. All were shorebirds, feeding on small invertebrates like worms and snails near the tide line.

Animal workers were waiting for a federal go-ahead to release the birds, as the western snowy plover is listed as a threatened species, McGuire said.

The plover received identifying bands so it can be tracked by researchers, she said.

Avian botulism comes from toxin-releasing bacteria. The center has received a vial of antidote to the toxin in case of any more outbreaks.

The release also served as a kind of memorial; the plover was named “Snowy Joey” after recently-deceased center supporter and Rat Pack member Joey Bishop, McGuire said.

Bishop left instructions to donate to the center in lieu of flowers, either at 21900 Pacific Coast Hwy, Huntington Beach, CA 92646 or at www.wwccoc.org.

“We dedicated the release to Joey and his family,” she said. “We miss him, and that is just another wonderful thing he did for the center.”