¿ªÔÆÌåÓýRob and Vancouver birders, ? The White Rock fish and bird spectacle received some coverage on the CTV television news yesterday evening. ? There most definitely was a fish kill, as observed by me and as reported on the TV news. That said, there may still be huge numbers of live anchovies in the area. The TV station interviewed one person (I neglected to make a note of his name) who speculated on the cause of the fish kill; low oxygen levels, which could have been caused by the presence of huge numbers of fish in a small area of shallow water, was mentioned as a possibility. ? It seems likely that this spectacle of fish and fish-eating birds may continue for several days more if not longer, and local birders may want to visit White Rock to? observe it. ? Wayne C. Weber Delta, BC ? ? From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Rob Alexander via Groups.Io
Sent: Friday, December 27, 2019 9:27 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [vanbcbirds] White Rock fish kill ? Hi Wayne, ? I learned the the forage fish is Northern Anchovy, and have been in large numbers at White Rock Pier for weeks now! ? There wasn't a fish kill, but new Moon tides pushed massive amounts of the Northern Anchovy onto the beach, I've seen video where the fish were wriggling with the tide, so many forage fish! ? ? Rob Alexander ? ? On Thursday, December 26, 2019, 3:33:23 PM PST, Wayne Weber <contopus@...> wrote: ? ? Birders, ? I visited the White Rock Pier this morning, and was treated to a spectacle I have never seen there before. There appears to have been a huge fish kill there, with small dead fish littering the sandy ocean bottom, and in some cases washed up on the beach. In response, great numbers of fish-eating birds have congregated on the site. I estimated at least 4000 Glaucous-winged Gulls, which covered the water for a sizable distance just east of the pier. Also in the area were at least 1000 Pacific Loons, 300 Red-throated Loons, 300 Red-breasted Mergansers, 50 Common Mergansers, and smaller numbers of other species. Most of the loons and mergansers were in large flocks just beyond the breakwater, but about 150 mergansers were in a large group close to shore just west of the pier. Also in the area were at least 8 California Sea Lions and 15 Harbour Seals. ? I¡¯d like to know what caused this fish kill, and whether it is likely to have serious consequences. I took photos of some of the dead fish and requested ID help (I¡¯m not a fish expert!). I hope that someone will be investigating this incident. ? Wayne Weber ? |
