Mark's Notebook

Rare birds mystify scientists

San Jose Mercury News

By Lisa M. Krieger, Mercury News

Pacific storms have blown thousands of rare sea birds into the Bay Area, many of them weak, emaciated and seeking refuge in rain puddles of suburban yards and parking lots. The small birds, called red phalaropes, ordinarily live many miles off the Pacific coast and are rarely seen on land.

Since the afternoon of Christmas Day, they've been sighted in Los Gatos, Palo Alto, San Francisco, even Campbell's percolation ponds at Budd Road and San Tomas Expressway. Most abundant on the coast, a flock of 1,200 was reported near Half Moon Bay.

Normally they are wary of humans. And they only come on land in the Arctic, where they briefly breed and raise their young. But many of these are weary, allowing people to approach closely. Some have been killed by cats and gulls. Along Highway 1, hundreds were reportedly struck by cars.

"They were emaciated, with anemia and low protein levels," suggesting long-term starvation, said Marie Travers of the Peninsula Humane Society. But the Bay Area's rich estuaries could offer badly needed food and rest.

http://www.mercurynews.com:80/mld/mercurynews/news/13499321.htm

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Last updated Tuesday 13 May 2008