Thread: Dead mutton birds along the east coast of australia.

due to concerns of the recent sightings of dead mutton birds along the east coast of australia and the lack of important information on the situation, my brother and i have wondered whether collecting samples of the birds from different areas up and down the coast would allow us to assess the birds and determine whether or not the birds are suffering from radiation or not ? we are both consistent surfers and we have heard rumours about radiation being the cause for the death of these birds, we have also heard that its just what happens to the birds on their migratory path as theyre exhausted from their trip. thats a believable hypothesis, my only major concern is that the numbers of these birds washing up dead are larger than what ive seen before in previous years during migration season. are there any experts out there who can help ?

It seems to be natural attrition from the migration.
No Cookies | thetelegraph.com.au

The Tasmanian mutton birds, also known as short-tailed shearwaters, have been found in large numbers on Newport, Narrabeen, Collaroy and Dee Why beaches in the past week.

The mass deaths are a natural result of the bird's epic migration from Bass Strait to the Bering Sea on the edge of the Arctic Circle.

The 30,000km return journey sees a number of birds reach the limits of their endurance, falling into the sea and being washed up on our shores as they near the end of their journey.

I found this item.

Harsh forces of nature hammer mutton bird migration | Daily News

Lawks! The migration route. It's a wonder any of them have ever made it at all. They get to Australia by taking the longest possible path diagonally across the Pacific from California! They don't even get to stop off at Hawaii or New Zealand on the way.

Short-tailed Shearwater - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Each australwinter, the Shearwaters migrate to the seas off the Aleutian Islands and Kamchatka. In the austral spring, they travel down the coast of California before crossing the Pacific back to Australia.

If there were unusual conditions affecting the death rate this year, you'd need to find out first what the wind conditions were like on their massive journey.