Dead birds wash up on local beach
What killed hundreds of seagulls along a stretch of Horowhenua coastline last week could be known by the end of the week.
Department of Conservation is working with other agencies to investigate the deaths of around 150 black backed gulls found on the coast between Waikawa and Kuku beaches on Friday.
DoC Manawatu¯ Operations Manager Moana Smith-Dunlop said rangers discovered a number of adult and juvenile black-backed gulls dead or dying on the beach.
It now appears that the gulls may have ingested a toxin.
Several carcasses were collected and taken to Massey University for post-mortem.
The results of necropsy and toxicology tests were expected back later this week.
Smith-Dunlop said they were unaware of any culling measures in the area that would account for the death of the birds.
“It’s important to note that DoC has not carried out any culls or pest control in the area that might have affected these birds,” she said.
“Black backed gulls are one of the few native bird species that are unprotected. They are thriving across the country, and in some instances black-backed gull populations can be controlled by private landowners, but there is no requirement to notify DoC when this is the case.”
“DoC occasionally controls black backed gulls to protect endangered species that can sometimes fall prey to these larger birds.”
“We are working with other agencies, including the regional and district council and Ministry for Primary Industries, as we try to determine what happened and what our next steps need to be.”
DoC went to the beach to investigate after being first alerted by two Waikawa Beach women, who came across a large number of sick seabirds on Friday morning.
Angela Smith and Lucy Truscott usually walk about 3.5km from Waikawa Beach to Kuku Beach and back home again each morning, only that morning they came across a scene of dead and dying birds.
The birds were in such distress that Truscott, a former member of the armed forces, returned with an air rifle to humanely destroy the birds that were in distress and dying after checking with authorities that it was okay to do so first.
“I was just bawling my eyes out.
“I thought it was just one or two,” she said.
Those birds that were well enough to hold their heads up and were still breathing were being checked and the two women did all they could to
ensure their survival.
It wasn’t the first time they had found dead birds.
A fortnight earlier they had found one bird that was in distress so helped it up and alerted the authorities, contacting Wellington Zoo to see if it was interested in helping.
But that was one bird. Last Friday they said they had seen “at least 150” that were dead or dying.
Smith-Dunlop said it was a highly unusual situation and DoC had urged people to not go near the birds.
“We would ask that anyone who is on the beach please keep their distance from the gulls, and keep any dogs on leashes,” she said.
“We would also like to thank the member of the public for reporting this to us through the DoC hotline.
“We encourage anyone with concerns about wildlife to contact us on 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468).”