Hundreds of bird deaths sound alarm on problems in the Great Lakes

Now I know we had some bird and fish deaths this year due to the abnormally high temperature in the waters of the great lakes but this seems to be clear evidence that something in fact is changing here in the great lakes region. It is really sad that the loons are dying. They are one of the most beautiful waterfoul species in my opinion.

Source.

Volunteers and biologists walking the beaches of northwestern Michigan's Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore the past few days have counted nearly 300 dead or dying loons and other fish-eating birds -- all victims of botulism that has scientists concerned about the changing ecology of the Great Lakes.

"This last couple days has been off the charts," said Dan Ray, a biologist in charge of a project monitoring the botulism among fish-eating birds at the park. "I'm sitting here looking at our graph and for the loons, this appears to be one of the worst seasons."

Strong southwest and northwest winds in recent weeks explain why the dead loons are coming ashore, possibly from many miles into Lake Michigan.

The death of loons -- with their haunting two-note cry and striking looks -- gets the public nervous, too, Ray said.

"It's almost strange from a biologist's standpoint," he said. "When loons show up (dead), people freak out."

The water level is 1 inch from a record low (1964). The frackers are stealing the water for placing it underground with deathchems, so they can make more money and have more power over the commoners. They may as well be ripping clouds from the sky.


Water. Gone. Forever.
But wouldn't that cause a drought?

Oh, who cares. I got mine.

Do they ever do necropsy on these animals that are randomly dying?

And if no cause is found. Could it be something scrambling their brains? lol such as a magnetic force?

Interesting. On 31 Dec 2011 there was a huge death of brids in one night in Arizona. Several days later, a large number of fish were found dead in a different part of Florida.

I haven't mastered putting up links but google daed birds Arizona and it comes up.

EDIT: the dead fish were also found in Arizona and not Florida

That's very sad, especially considering that Loons reproduce at a low rate so any major die offs can really affect population.

The article says they did do necropsy. Particularly sad about Patriarch, 21 years old - I really didn't know that Loons were that long lived.

It's sad that a lot of it has to do with nonnative mussels.

Here is one link:

www.huffingtonpost.com...

There apparently was a similar event in 2011.

I wounder if the two are somehow connected. Seems odd to me.

We found a flock of Canadian Geese that had dropped out of the sky last winter. I never did find out the results of the DNRs tests they ran. If I find them again this year I will take on to my moms lab and have it tested independently before I call the DNR. I also wonder if this has to do with magnatism as well.

a little farther down in the article it states botulism killed the oldest one.

One loon found dead off the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula in late September was known as the Patriarch -- at age 21, the oldest banded loon in Michigan.

Thomas Cooley, a biologist and pathologist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, did the necropsy on Patriarch and determined that botulism killed him.

The problem begins with two tiny nonnative mussels -- zebras and quaggas -- that feed by filtering plankton in the water. Over time, water clarity increases, allowing sunlight to penetrate to greater depths. In turn, that has allowed mats of algae to grow in deeper water. Meanwhile, another recent addition to the Great Lakes ecosystem -- the bottom-dwelling, minnow-sized round goby -- has proliferated. As the algae mats decay, they become anaerobic -- depleted of oxygen, an environment in which the botulism bacteria thrives. In some places, the algae blankets can be several feet thick. Gobies live in and around the algae and pick up the toxin produced by the bacteria. In turn, susceptible fish-eating birds such as loons, mergansers and grebes, as well as gulls and cormorants, eat the gobies and become poisoned. Botulism attacks the nervous system, leaving birds unable to control their wings and eventually, their neck muscles to lift their heads. Death is slow and, at the least, unpleasant. One theory suggests that the onset of fall weather and the turnover of the water column as the lakes cool could make the botulism toxin more accessible to fish and birds.

reply to post by usmc0311

I believe that the gasses from the BP spill- the one they are not talking about that is happening now at 4500 ft below sea level and the same one causing the LA sink hole has made it's way towards the great lakes. Remember Edgar Cassey's prediction and the new world map. What i find surprising is that with all the talk about the LA sink hole and pics posted ... NO ONE has commented on the lack of fresh water! Notice where all the fresh water goes after the Great Lakes empy into the Mississippi and then to the ocean. This is a definate possibility in light of the present circumstances! What are we going to do without the reserves of fresh drinkable water. From the looks of these maps- THERE AIN'T ANY! It's all Brakish or salted Someone- everyone had better start THINKING and or INVESTING in a a desalinization plant and soon or we are all SOL!

reply to post by Terims


So, let me make sure I have this right. You believe that deep sea gases from a secret BP spill currently occurring is creating the bayou sinkhole as well as migrating northward to the Great lakes, and therefore is killing the loons? Interesting that gas can go against the flow of the water (upstream) and do that without being detected at ALL.

Please, I'd love to see some evidence backing this up. Unless my Google-fu is completely busted, it looks like you're the only one posing this idea in the first place.

Zebra mussels, Asian carp, Our beautiful big lakes are in serious trouble.
The lasting effects from these outsiders are going to be devastating.

I know the loons on the small lake by our cabin are already having problems, because the Eagles have made such a strong comeback. They snatch the babies every year.

How do we know it is not radiation from Japan that is causing all this animal death??

Just sayin'.....This is, after all, a conspiracy website

I grew up in SE Wisconsin and spent a lot of time on the lakes in the 70's and 80's.

It wasn't unheard of to catch 3 or 4 King Salmon and 10-12 Coho's in an afternoon.

They're largely gone now, just like the Lake trout that were wiped out by the lamprey eel after the St Lawrence Seaway was finished.

The lakes are hearty, and the big three get plenty deep, so I doubt they will go away any time soon.

I read a paper last year that concluded that the entire region is still rebounding from the weight of the glaciers, and that water levels are part of that.

Originally posted by chiefsmom
Zebra mussels, Asian carp, Our beautiful big lakes are in serious trouble.
The lasting effects from these outsiders are going to be devastating.

I know the loons on the small lake by our cabin are already having problems, because the Eagles have made such a strong comeback. They snatch the babies every year.

The Bald Eagle issue is the next big debate.

They're everywhere, and they are voracious eaters.

I live on the praire of southern Minnesota, and I have 2 nesting pairs hunting my grove regularly.

I used to have rabbits and squirrels everywhere on my land 5 years ago.

Today we have very few little critters, can't honestly remember the last rabbit we had in the yard.


It's an issue that needs to e addressed.

reply to post by AGWskeptic


It's funny that you mention the St Lawrence Seaway. I used to live quite near Massena and I used to hear people talking of the Trout. Also after reading the OP article I remembered watching ships come in and seeing all of the zebra mussels that were attached to them.

There has been so much damage to ocean/water ecology, it's shameful.