[Mike]

http://www.koin.com/news.asp?RECORD_KEY%5Bnews%5D=ID&ID%5Bnews%5D=3704

Scientists Blame Unseasonable Weather

NEWPORT, Ore. — About 70 adult common murres have been found dead on
a beach near Newport this week, and scientists expect that more dead
birds will follow.
Researchers say unseasonable weather patterns are to blame for the
unusually large number of deaths among adult breeders.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife says the die-off is likely the result of
stress due to a lack of food associated with unusually low oceanic
productivity along the West Coast.

Usually, the coast gets strong winds from the northwest in the
summertime, bringing cooler, nutrient-rich water up to the surface of
the water. And this causes plankton to bloom.

Fish then feed on the plankton, and birds feed on the fish. But
experts say the winds were calm this year, leaving the ocean, “pretty
sterile.”