FAIRFIELD, CA -- They are scared, dehydrated and hungry, but they are the lucky ones. Nearly 300 migratory birds arrived at the U.S. Coast Guard base at McClellan Business Park in Sacramento late Monday, on their way to a new lease on life. As workers off-loaded the birds in crates and boxes from a Coast Guard C-130 transport plane, workers with the International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC) in Fairfield said the quick journey will give many of the birds another chance at life.
"To have the help of the Coast Guard, I mean, they have been so wonderful," said Rebecca Dmytryk, with the IBRRC.
The birds began dying last week after a mysterious algae bloom, called a 'red tide' along the Oregon and Washington coast. The tiny, single-celled organisms began rupturing in the rough seas of a storm and caused a foam that disrupted the delicate lattice-work on the bird's wings, leaving them unable to stay afloat.
The luckier birds made it to shore and into the hands of rescuers. "We're talking about western grebes, loons, common loons, red-throated loons, scoters and murres," said Dmytryk. Thousands of birds are believed to have died. After being loaded into a rental truck, the birds made a one-hour trip to the IBRRC in Fairfield. Volunteers formed a human chain to move them inside and start the work of saving them.
First, the birds were given an anti-fungal medicine, then warm electrolytes to rehydrate them. Within a day or two, they should be able to begin eating again and within two weeks they should be ready to release back into nature. Experts are puzzled over the cause of the unusual algae bloom, but believe climate change may be part of the reason. "It doesn't matter who's responsible or what's responsible. We're seeing changes and we need to find out what to do," said Dmytryk.
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