More dead birds wash up on GT Bay

BY SHERI McWHIRTER
smcwhirter@record-eagle.com

November 14, 2007 04:00 am

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EASTPORT -- State officials confirmed that hundreds of dead birds that washed ashore in Antrim County died from Type E botulism poisoning.

Residents from Elk Rapids to Eastport are reporting another wave of rotting loons, mergansers and gulls along Grand Traverse Bay. Test results from 20 carcasses collected two weeks ago near Elk Rapids confirmed state officials' suspected cause of deaths.

Meanwhile, more birds are showing up dead, locals said.

"Almost every day there are fresh ones. There's easily a dozen carcasses scattered down the beach here," said Joan Heizer, who lives in a lakeshore house near Eastport. "It's disturbing to see it and I wonder why it's happening. It doesn't seem like a normal occurrence."

Ken Milne, of Eastport, said he estimates there are as many as 50 bird carcasses per mile of Lake Michigan shoreline in Antrim County.

"I'd love to have some answers. The birds we're seeing are not the ones we normally see on our beach. Sometimes we see a gull because there's so many, but not loons and mergansers," Milne said. "The last few days we haven't seen any gulls in the sky, either, which is a little scary."

Officials said research shows botulism poisoning occurs because invasive zebra and quagga mussels filter naturally occurring bacteria from the water, which then concentrates in their bodies.

The mussels are eaten by fish, which are consumed by birds, allowing the bacteria to move up the food chain.

"We've had problems with that on different parts of the Lake Michigan shoreline," said Mary Dettloff, spokeswoman with the state Department of Natural Resources.

About 3,000 dead birds were found last year along the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore, including about 180 loons. Tests confirmed they died of botulism poisoning, as did those recently collected near Elk Rapids. State officials may collect more samples in the area for additional testing, Dettloff said.

"If even a fraction of the dead birds are from Michigan, you're talking about a rather dramatic decline," said Damon McCormick, biologist with the nonprofit Common Coast Research and Conservation group, which specializes in loons.

Between 800 and 1,000 loons are estimated to live in the state and some dead birds may be migrating from Canada, he said.

"It's a severe loss of loons and other birds and there's no solution to it," said Arlene Westhoven, president of the Michigan Loon Preservation Association, who also lives in Eastport.