IN THE PIPELINE:

Last week I received an e-mail with a subject line that included the words “Bird Deaths.”

At first I thought there were new incidents happening at Brightwater, the controversial local housing complex where birds had been flying into a nearly milelong wall of glass. As I soon learned though, there’s another bird — make that people — problem in Huntington Beach. It involves Carr Park, at Springdale Street and Heil Avenue. Lynn McGowan, a volunteer at the Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center, wrote:

“Over the last few weeks, as temperatures have risen and visitors to Carr Park have fed more and more bread and other food to the birds, we’ve had a number of animals — mostly ducks — succumb to avian botulism. It has been heartbreaking to have to constantly pull sick birds out of the pond, many of whom are so weak they can hardly keep their heads above water. Avian botulism causes slow, painful paralysis and eventually death. It is highly contagious, so if dead birds are left floating in the water, the problem escalates.

“Just last week it quickly became a crisis situation, with more than 100 birds dying within just a couple of days. This is a ‘huge’ number of deaths, considering the size of the park. Avian botulism is suspected.

“Last month I spoke over the phone with Ron Kilbourne of HB’s Parks & Recreation Department two or three times about the problem at Carr Park, particularly the condition of the water in the pond. It is the worst I have ever seen it: The algae is now extremely thick, and there is litter, including plastic bags, floating on the surface everywhere you look. The city has added a few more signs telling visitors not to feed the ducks or throw food in the water, but the additional signage seems to have had little effect.

“Another WWCC volunteer and I have also created a flier to pass out to park visitors, explaining why feeding the animals is harmful to their health. I think most people really have no idea that their actions are causing the birds to become ill and eventually die.

“At any rate, I think the situation has reached the point where the public needs to know what’s happening at Carr Park, and why. And with media attention, perhaps the city will be forced to deal with the water pollution problem more proactively.”

Sheila Eberly, a supervisor at the Wetlands Wildlife Care Center, also wrote me a long, detailed note with even more detail on what’s happening at Carr Park. Some excerpts from her letter:

“Too many people do not realize that throwing bread and other food into the lake causes pollution as it falls to the bottom of the lake and rots. The algae feeds off of this detritus (decaying material) and promotes avian botulism, which causes paralysis and eventually death for birds feeding and living in this environment.

“I have contacted the Huntington Beach Parks Department to try to find out what is being done to remedy the problem. Their reply was that they had administered algaecide a month ago after there was a loss of about 40 birds with avian botulism and that they would re-apply the algaecide. If you visit the lake it is plain to see much more is needed to be done. The lake is at a toxic level now. There are large areas where scummy foam created by the blue-green algae float on the surface. You can see the streaks of algae in the water. One remedy would be to drain the lake and replace it with fresh water. Another is to apply the algaecide, which can be toxic to fish and other animals.

“I spoke to at the parks department, the lake could not be drained until October when they have their budget meeting to approve the cost … the City Council has to come to a more timely decision to save the large number of waterfowl we are likely to lose in the near future if this problem is not solved in an expeditious manner. It would be wonderful to return Carr Park Lake to a healthy environment for the large variety of birds that visit it. The island is a nesting ground for many egrets and other varieties of herons, we have migrating white pelicans, Canada geese, coots, cormorants, mallards and many other birds use it as a stop over in their migrations. Please help us return it to a more healthy state for our local wildlife.”

Clearly, this is a serious problem that needs some attention. Personally, I had no idea of what the ramifications of feeding the ducks are (years ago, we’d take the kids there sprinkle duck feed in front of the birds — little did we know).

So spread the word — not the breadcrumbs. And if you see a sick or injured animal, call Orange County Animal Control at (714) 935-6848.

Plus, let the city know you’re concerned about the water quality of ponds in local parks. Call Huntington Beach Community Services at (714) 536-5486, or contact the Parks Department at (714) 536-5480.

Update — In last week’s column about Huntington Beach tennis player Jill Craybas, I said that she “held out hopes of being named as an alternate to the U.S. Olympic team.” Well, those hopes were rewarded as Craybas earned a last-minute spot on the women’s team along with Lindsay Davenport (also of Orange County), and the Williams sisters, Serena and Venus. Way to go, Jill.

CHRIS EPTING is the author of 14 books, including the new “Huntington Beach Then & Now.” You can write him at chris@chrisepting.com.