Though not victims of the fire, there were also the reports in October
and November of the bodies of thousands of migratory mutton birds
washing up on beaches in NSW including Bondi, Manly & Cronulla, as
well as out on Lord Howe Island and the coasts of Tasmania and Western
Australia.
The birds apparently migrate from Japan, Siberia and Alaska to breeding
grounds south of Tasmania and are normally punctual.
Observers were first surprised back in October when their arrivals were
weeks late and the numbers 30% to 40% down. Then the bodies started
to wash ashore.
A similar event had occurred in Alaska in September raising concerns
and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated the deaths may have
been in the hundreds of thousands.
Back here, a number of dead birds from different sites were submitted for necropsy.
All have showed similar results, including muscle wasting, emaciation
and evidence of starvation. Some infectious diseases including avian
influenza and Newcastle disease have been excluded by PCR in the
events in Qld, NSW, Vic, Tas and WA. Infection with West Nile Virus
was also excluded by PCR in birds from NSW.
So with the birds having appeared to have starved to death, one concern
is that with rising ocean temperatures, much of the krill upon which
the birds largely depend on to survive has gone to deeper depths
which they now cannot reach.
ABC 5 Oct 2019
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-...chers/11572220
Audubon 11 Oct 2019
https://www.audubon.org/news/thousan...res-again-year
ABC 25 Oct 2019
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-...sland/11627720
Sydney Morning Herald 30 Oct 2019
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/c...030-2wgzd.html
The Australian 20 Nov 2019
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sci...54b81d1003a7aa
msn.com 18 Nov 2019
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/austr...sis/ar-BBWUMAm
11 Dec 2019 Australian Wildlife Health Network
https://www.wildlifehealthaustralia....20Website).pdf