Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2000 11:46:54 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Howard Youth Subject: Re: Dead Ruddy Ducks Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Todd, I forwarded your posting to a friend of mine who's a toxicologist at Patuxent. While he didn't have a ready explanation, he thought it was a definite cause for concern. Here's his recommendation: This should be reported to FWS Law enforcement and VA dept ASAP. FWS Law enforcement pnone # is 804-771-2883 (Richmond, VA- main office) So, I guess they'd check out the possibility of some toxin leak in the area. Hope this helps. Sincerely, Howard Youth hmyouth@erols.com Rockville, MD At 10:50 AM 02/06/2000 EST, you wrote: >Hello all... > >While Kurt Gaskill and I were birding the Colonial Beach, VA area on >Saturday, we discovered fourteen dead Ruddy Ducks, and one dead scaup. = All >of these birds were in a stretch of shoreline about 100 feet long. Due = to >the shape and privacy of the marina, as well as the time of day, we were >unable to search further for them. > >They were found in the harbor that dumps into the Potomac, at the tip of= land >at the end of Colonial Beach. The ducks were caught along the rocks tha= t the >peninsula we were standing on was built on, or bolstered with. The duck= s all >seemed to be pretty much in the same state of decay. Mostly they looked >recently dead. A couple appeared to be a bit bloated, but otherwise the= y >looked pretty recent. They were in the water with no easy access to exa= mine >one, so I have no idea if they were shot. My hunch is that they were no= t >shot. Rather they died from ingesting some toxin. But, that is a pure >guess. > >What I am wondering is whether or not 15 dead ducks along 100 feet of >shoreline is significant, or is this nothing that is going to raise conc= ern >among appropriate authorities. Also, would this be something I should r= eport >to VA Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries, or is this VA Fish and Game's >jurisdiction? If anyone has any information regarding this, or has seen= any >dead Ruddy Ducks, feel free to let me know. > >Thanks... > >Todd Day >Jeffersonton, VA >BlkVulture@aol.com > >========================= ================================================ >To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com >with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey >========================= ================================================ > ========================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ========================================================================= ===========================================================================