Thursday, September 13, 2012

Avian botulism reported by Watershed Council

Photo courtesy of Harbor Light News
After a relatively quiet season in 2011, dead birds are again appearing on the Lake Michigan shoreline, and this year much earlier than anticipated.

“Calls have been coming in for the past two weeks with reports of migratory waterfowl washing up on local beaches” said Kevin Cronk, Research and Monitoring Coordinator for Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council. “While the numbers are small, it is much earlier in the season than usual. We don’t typically have this many reports until late September to early October.

We are just at the beginning of ‘avian botulism season’ and calls this early may indicate a dramatic increase in bird mortality in the next few months.”

Harbor Light News - www.harborlightnews.com
05 Sep 2012
Watershed Council
Location:  Lake Michigan (Emmet Co.), Michigan, USA - Map It  

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