Why Dead Birds?

Dotted with Cormorants, Gulls, and
Common Murres, this nesting site near
Florence, OR provides a nice example of
 the steep and remote nature of pelagic rookeries

Notice the explosive wave in the bottom right of this picture.
Would you want to climb this on a regular basis?

Literally on the edge of ocean rock cliffs, access to sites like
this Cormorant rookery can be remote and treacherous

If you are like me, you probably wonder why COASST is so focused on finding dead birds. Why don’t they just go after the live ones instead? I questioned that too at first, but as I’ve learned more about the program and visited the areas where COASST birds of interest live, I’ve discovered the reason is quite simple – because it’s a heck of a lot easier! The COASST program is interested specifically in what are called pelagic birds, or birds of the open sea. These birds frequent coastal waters and expansive ocean, spending most of their time in vast saltwater environments, while breeding most frequently on isolated sea rocks and cliffs. Because of the oceanic habits of pelagic birds and the remoteness associated with their breeding areas, it would practically be impossible, and certainly financially prohibitive, to survey these places on a regular basis looking for live birds. As it would have it, monitoring the rates, patterns, and characteristics of dead birds that have been naturally washed ashore by ocean currents is a really helpful indicator of species population health and trends. Couple that with a knowledgeable and willing population of volunteers who visit and live along the beaches where pelagic birds roam, and you can see why dead birds are the winning ticket!