Beached Bird Surveys, September – November 1991

Beached bird surveys were carried out on Schiermonnikoog (LS), Ameland and the Frisian mainland coast (JNY), Texel (JAF), Noord- and Zuid-Holland (SG), and in Zeeland (SH, PAW). Densities in excess of 3.0/km were only found on Ameland (3.9 and 6.0/km, October) and Schiermonnikoog (6.0/km October), mainly because of Eiders stranded on these beaches. Ten oiled Common Scoters were found on a 5 km survey on Goeree (Zeeland, SH). A variety of species, all in small numbers and unoiled or as a corpse incomplete, was found in the other surveys. Considerable numbers of passerines were found wrecked in October at the mainland coast. One Herring Gull was found entangled in nylon thread. Two Little Auks (Castricum and Bloemendaal, November, SG) and 1 Arctic Tern (Ameland, October, JNY) were unusual species being found this autumn. News from the oil sampling project. Oil sampling has commenced again, but fewer people will be asked to sample from corpses. In case of considerable quantities of oil washing ashore (with or without birds connected to the incident), and particularly in case of strandings of unknown substances, samples are welcomed. Please contact NZG/NSO headquarters instantly in these cases. Strandings of ’unknown’ substances require particular attention. On Texel and Ameland (and perhaps the other islands), large quantities of a yellow substance were found (sampled at Texel). Please, realize that these chemicals may be dangerous and avoid contact with the skin! Massive strandings of similar substances in Germany and Denmark have occurred and sampled last summer. It appeared that highly toxic alkylated phenols polluted the tidelines (GD).