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"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.
Experts say the deaths appear to be from natural causes, affecting only murres. The die-off, centered between Astoria and Cape Meares near Tillamook, is one of the most severe in recent years. An abundant number of juveniles, combined with a possible offshore food shortage that is bringing the birds nearer to the coast, may account for the high number of birds washed up on beaches.
"It's not unusual for us to periodically have these mortality events at this time of year, and they sometimes can be pretty intensive," said Roy Lowe, a biologist with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. "At times in the past, we've had 100 birds per mile of beach."
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The last substantial die-offs of young murres were in 1995 and 1999, said Lowe. "In the late 1980s and early 1990s, we were seeing big losses of murre chicks annually. They were producing lots of young, and they were losing a lot." An estimated 700,000 of the deep-diving birds -- about two-thirds of the eastern Pacific's population below Alaska -- live along Oregon's rocky coast in the summer, so the die-off isn't expected to make a substantial dent in their numbers."
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