I normally don't either, but it such a large number.....and the way they died - bleeding from the gills. Very odd.
Common Murres Washing Ashore (Oregon - Wednesday, Aug. 11th)
Scientists attribute the hundreds of dead seabirds to natural causes -- perhaps too many young birds and too little food
Wednesday, August 11, 2004 RICHARD L. HILL
Beachcombers strolling Oregon's scenic shores may encounter a disturbing sight this month: hundreds of dead birds.
Common murres, Oregon's most abundant nesting seabird, are washing ashore either severely weakened or dead. Most are young murres that haven't fledged, although some are adults........
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Posted on: Sunday, August 8, 2004 HAWAI'I BRIEFS Gray Sea Worms Wash Ashore (Hawaii - Aug. 8th)
They were a strange sight at Ala Moana Beach. An estimated 200 gray sea worms, called polycheate worms, washed ashore Friday to the amazement of veteran lifeguard Steve Clendenin.
Clendenin, who has been assigned to the beach since 1979, had never seen one before. Clendenin described the worms as a "nightmarish cross between a centipede and a sea urchin."
The 1- to- 6-inch-long worms normally live beneath the sand on the ocean floor, feeding on algae, state Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo said. Most of the worms that washed ashore appeared to be dying.
Okubo attributed the deaths to the ocean's salt water being diluted with fresh water from recent rains. The worms don't sting or bite, although they sometimes have thornlike spines on their backs, according to the department's Clean Water Branch. The department found it unnecessary to close the beach. There were no reports of the worms coming ashore yesterday.