Dear EcoNews,
During a recent conversation with a friend, she recounted an experience she had in which she and her partner came across a sea bird that had been pushed to the shore on a remote beach and was getting pummeled by waves. Uncertain and distressed about what to do, they waited a little while to see if it would recover and then decided to intervene by picking up the bird gently with a towel and bringing it out into the sea past the pummeling waves. Unfortunately, the bird seemed to recover for a little while but then succumbed to the stress of the experience. The conversation made me realize that I don’t know what the right thing would have been to do in that circumstance. Does anyone have any advice about what to do when you come across injured wildlife?
– Wondering about Wildlife
Dear Wondering about Wildlife,
Hi there! My name is Monte Merrick. I’m a co-founder of Bird Ally X and the director of Humboldt Wildlife Care Center/bax, which is our region’s only permitted wildlife hospital, outside of the North Coast Marine Mammal Center in Crescent City, which treats only Seals, Sea lions and other marine mammals.
First let me say thank you for caring about the fate of that bird, and for your friend’s compassion and willingness to act. I’m sorry for what happened. As a wildlife care provider for the last 23 years, I’ve had plenty of heartbreak when a treatment plan doesn’t work. I can definitely relate to their experience.
Your friend was correct in assuming that the seabird they found needed help. For many aquatic birds, coming to land is a serious sign of distress. Obviously gulls, pelicans and shorebirds are highly aquatic, and yet are normal to see on land, but some species are so devoted to water that even their nests are made of floating vegetation. Grebes come to mind. Other similarly aquatic species come to land only to breed, using offshore rocks for colony nesting sites. Common Murres are easy to see on the rocks off Trinidad during breeding season, as an example. Any individuals of a species evolved to a life on water who come to shore are very likely in a life-threatening situation. There is nothing on land for them – no food, no water, no shelter. If they cannot survive in the element to which they are finely adapted, they come to land as a desperate move, but it’s an unsustainable effort and they die, literally stranded.
As a wildlife responder to catastrophic oil spills, I have spent many hours walking beaches catching stranded birds. It’s not easy. Often a bird you are trying to net slips past you and makes it back to the water. Their bravery in their attempt to evade capture is deeply admirable, but their success at evading capture means death from their injury. So we develop skills to increase our odds! Sometimes a bird is so debilitated that they don’t evade capture. But that doesn’t mean it’s too late for them! Just last month we admitted a Common Loon, a very heavy, highly aquatic bird who only comes to land to nest, who was found grounded near Gold Bluff beach. Four weeks of recuperative time in our pool were required for that loon to be well again, but in fact, she was released just last week.
My advice for situations like the one your friend experienced is pretty simple. If you are able to pick up a bird on the beach, it is absolutely safe to assume that the bird needs treatment. In almost all situations in which a person can capture a wild animal, it likely means that the animal needs help. Our clinic is open 365 days a year to admit injured and orphaned wildlife. We’re here for just this reason. If you find an animal that you think may be in trouble, but aren’t sure, or you aren’t able to safely capture, for whatever reason, you can always call us at (707) 822-8839. We send crews out every day to rescue wildlife in need.
– Bird Ally X