(e) = estimate

Alaska Fish and Game Department (AK), Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZ), B.C. Ministry of Environment (BC), Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Center (CCW), Center for Disease Control (CDC), California Fish and Game Wildlife Investigations Lab (CFG), Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MN), USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NW), New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation (NY), Oregon Dept. of Fisheries and Wildlife (OR), Animal Diagnostic Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University (PA), Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCW), San Diego County Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (SDC), Environment Ministry Laboratory of Toronto (TOR), Wyoming Game and Fish (WY), Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (WA), Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WI) , US Army, Fort Meade (USA), University of California Davis (UCD), US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).

Written and compiled by Rex Sohn, Western US, Kathryn Converse, Central US, Emi Saito/Grace McLaughlin - Eastern US, NWHC. The Quarterly Wildlife Mortality Report is available at http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov. To report mortality or receive information about this report, contact the above NWHC staff, e-mail: kathy_converse@usgs.gov., or for Hawaiian Islands contact Thierry Work. Phone: (608) 270-2400, FAX: (608) 270-2415 or write USGS National Wildlife Health Center, 6006 Schroeder Road, Madison, WI 53711.

Quarterly Mortality Reports

Disease in Western Snowy Plovers and Gulls along the Southern California Coast. In early February 2005, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists began receiving reports of sick and dead adult western snowy plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus) along the California coast from the northern end of San Diego Bay to the Mexican border.  This segment of coastline contains many active and inactive military sites and receives input from rivers containing industrial, agricultural, and urban wastewater.  By the middle of May 2005, twenty one sick or dead adult western snowy plovers had been recovered.  The Pacific coast population of the Western Snowy Plover was listed as federally threatened in 1993 and this was a significant proportion of the breeding population in the area.  Sick birds were alert, showed no interest in eating, were unable to fly, and many were unable to stand.  Birds were in fair to good body condition. Morbidity and mortality in western snowy plovers with clinical signs of nervous system impairment was first observed in this area in 2002 and the incidence of affected adult birds has increased every year.  Similar clinical signs have also been reported in several species of gulls in the area during the last two years.  Diagnostic evaluation of affected western snowy plovers and gulls by the San Diego County Veterinary Diagnostic Lab and the California Animal Health and Food Safety Lab has found no infectious or toxic disease agents to date.  Similar disease has not been observed in other populations of western snowy plovers or gulls along the southern California coast.

High numbers of birds fatally oiled in California. The University of California Davis. International Bird rescue Research Center and California Fish and Game Office of Spill Prevention and Response reported a petroleum spill into the Santa Clara River on January 11, 2005 that dispersed along 80 miles of the Ventura and Los Angeles County coastlines.  An estimated 3,000-5,000 birds were oiled and died.  Birds that concentrate off shore, including Clark’s and Western grebes and common loons were most affected in the spill. There were 1,400 birds brought in rehabilitation and over 300 died or were euthanized because of their injuries. This oil spill was stated to be the most damaging to wildlife since a 1990 tanker spill.  Efforts to pinpoint the source of this spill were unsuccessful.

Visceral gout in snow geese and tundra swans.  Visceral gout was determined as the cause of death in snow geese submitted to the NWHC during January from Pasquotank County North Carolina, March in Mackey Island NWR North Carolina, and February from Back Bay NWR in Virginia.  There were no kidney parasites present and bacteriology and virology yielded no significant findings. Severe acute renal tubular necrosis was present with no inflammation and exposure to a nephrotoxin was suspected.  A corn sample from Virginia was tested for nephrotoxins (Ochratoxin A, Citrinin, Oosporein) and results were negative (below detectable limits). Similar episodes of visceral gout occurred in the same species in Virginia in 1980 and 1981 and in North Carolina in 1979,1992, 1994 and 2002.

Salmonellosis confirmed in migrating songbirds in Oregon and California.The first west coast outbreak of salmonellosis this winter was reported in pine siskins and redpolls in Juneau, Alaska in November 2004, followed by outbreaks involving pine siskins and American goldfinches in Oregon in December 2004 and Wyoming and California in February 2005.  The source of salmonella infections in migrating passerines has not been determined.