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Photo By Diane Sowman
Hundreds of dead and starving seabirds are washing up around Tasman’s shoreline.
The rise in seawater temperatures could be to blame for hundreds of dead fairy prions washing up along the beaches in Tasman and Golden Bay.
There have been reports of people finding hundreds of dead, dehydrated and starving seabirds across the entire Tasman Bay, and all the way to Wharariki in Golden Bay.
Some are dropping the blue-grey birds to Natureland Wildlife Trust, in Nelson.
Director Meg Rutledge said they were currently caring for 13 dehydrated and starving birds, with more expected to arrive.
“It’s not the first time historically that there have been such mass dying off of birds,” she said.
“The cause can be things like bad weather, or high heat that has affected the movement of their food sources so they are going hungry.”
She had been getting reports of the birds all around Tasman Bay getting into trouble on the shore break, and then washing up on the sand.
“There are many that have passed away. Some are dehydrated from lack of food, and some that are fit enough to make a full recovery.”
They were working with Department of Conservation (DOC) to make sure the birds were getting the right treatment at Natureland.
“Seabirds are a bit trickier, they are a harder to care for because their diet requires vitamins that can’t easily be substituted,” Rutledge said. “Those vitamins help their glands stimulate the waterproof quality of their feathers.”
Courtesy of stuff.co.nz
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