GALVESTON — Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officers discovered at least 11 pelicans and terns along the beaches of Galveston’s West End on Monday, and said the snow that was a welcomed sight Christmas weekend may be to blame.
“These birds, when it gets cold like the cold we had at Christmas, tend to gather and huddle, because the cold affects them pretty good,” said Capt. Eddie Tanuz, who heads the department’s Galveston County office. “The weather gets them, and they die and wash up. It’s not that uncommon.”
Tanuz said game wardens found five pelicans and six terns along the beaches between 8 Mile Road and the San Luis Pass on Monday. Reports came into his office of more birds late in the day and crews were to go back out and check the area this morning.
“There is nothing at this time to give us an indication that this was a bird kill because of pesticides,” Said Tanuz. “None of the birds found had signs of any type of weapon or bullet damage.”
His assessment? The cold weather over the holiday weekend was the most likely culprit based on the decay of the birds’ remains.
“They were spread out throughout the whole beach and in different stages of decay,” said Tanuz. “That leads us to believe that this was more weather related than anything else.
“We will still be monitoring the situation to see if that changes.”
Reports on the dead birds came in from Galveston police, the Galveston County Health District and animal rehabilitator Trudy Belz.
Belz, a well-known birder who lives in Texas City, received several reports about dead birds.
She said such reports were not unusual this time of the year, but the larger numbers also made her think the weather had a lot to do with their discovery.
“They are hatched in Louisiana and come here for the winter,” said Belz. “This wasn’t the weather they expected.”
Belz said that while the weather may have played a role in their demise, it is likely many had a run in with anglers.
“(The birds) see those silver lures and go after the fish, and next thing you know, it’s hooked,” she said. Belz said most anglers would just cut their line and let the bird go. “It’s not the fisherman’s fault. They don’t want to pull that bird into the boat. (The birds) just fly off and look beautiful, but that’s not the case.
“A hooked bird is a dead bird.”
Belz predicted that more birds would be found in larger numbers within two weeks. Many will have bands on their legs for researchers following migration patterns and life spans.
“That’s the way it works most of the time,” she said. “We see a few, then the larger numbers come up.”
