MASS BIRD DIE-OFFS: "This Is An EXTRAORDINARY AMOUNT,... We're ALARMED,..." - 35 Brown Pelicans Found Dead On Grand Isle, Louisiana?!

The brown pelican, Louisiana's state bird.
© Times-Picayune

February 7, 2016 - LOUISIANA, UNITED STATES - As many as 35 brown pelicans have been found dead on Grand Isle in the past two weeks, prompting an investigation by scientists with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. They've dismissed suspicions that the birds were shot but have yet to determine the cause of death.

The dead pelicans were first reported to the Grand Isle Police Department, which asked state officials to investigate. "In the wintertime, we always get some calls about dead pelicans, but this seems to be an extraordinary amount," said Cheryl McCormack, secretary to Police Chief Euris DuBois. "We're alarmed about the number of them."

The brown pelican, Louisiana's state bird, was removed from the federal list of endangered and threatened species in 2009, but it is still protected under federal law. The birds had largely vanished from Louisiana's coast by the mid-1960s, after exposure to the pesticide DDT resulted in too-fragile eggshells.

More than 1,200 pelicans were imported from Florida in 1968. But the time of delisting, there were more than 12,000 breeding pairs in Texas and Louisiana.

Several dead brown pelicans collected by the Grand Isle Police Department in recent days have been turned over to wildlife officials, and others were being collected on Wednesday (Feb. 3) for testing, said Michael Seymour, a non-game ornithologist with Wildlife and Fisheries.

He said there have been several estimates of the number of dead birds, including 14 along several miles of beaches and 20 in a single mile of beach. A survey by a Wildlife and Fisheries employee found 15 or more birds over several miles.

Seymour said officials already have dismissed early reports that some of the pelicans might have been shot. A veterinarian with the department will conduct a necropsy, an animal version of an autopsy, on better-preserved carcasses, he said.

"Hopefully, we'll have an answer in the next few days, but we're not entirely sure," Seymour said. If the necropsies are unsuccessful, bird carcasses might be sent to a federal wildlife disease research center out of state for a more comprehensive review.

Seymour said it's not unusual to find dead pelicans washing up on beaches or elsewhere during cold, winter months, especially juvenile birds that starved to death before learning the best hunting skills. Some winter pelican deaths are the result of parasites, he said. Still others can die in the aftermath of winter storms, the result of being caught in cold rain, having their feathers become waterlogged then succumbing to hypothermia.

"It's not necessarily unusual to see pelicans dying in the winter," he said. "What may or may not be unusual is the number of dead birds. We don't have a baseline of what to expect each year; we don't have anybody counting dead birds every year." - NOLA.

WEATHER PHENOMENON: Massive Waterspout Dances Just Off The Coast Of Grand Isle, Louisiana!

June 21, 2013 - UNITED STATES - For the second day in a row, a tornado made a very public appearance. This time it was a big waterspout that formed just off Grand Isle, Louisiana, making for some dramatic photos and videos.

This photo provided by "Buggie" Vegas, owner of Bridge Side Cabins and Marina in Grand Isle, La., shows
a waterspout Wednesday, June 19, 2013, on Grand Isle, La. (AP Photo/Buggie Vegas)

The National Weather Service said the funnel eventually moved on shore (turning it from being called a waterspout to a tornado -- they're the same thing, just one's over water; the other over land) and partially damaging a camp roof.

Waterspout near Grand Isle... NWS confirms some minor damage.
Pic sent in from @WWLTV Eyewitness viewer Adam Frey pic.twitter.com/pbG3h0Ljay

Another Grand Isle water spout picture pic.twitter.com/LNkNnva7La

There were no reports of anyone hurt.



WATCH: Videos of the waterspout.

- KOMO News.

WEATHER ANOMALIES: Rare Twin Waterspouts Seen Over Louisiana Waters - Twisters Damaged Homes and Cut Power Across Grand Isle!

A scientist caught the birth of rare twin waterspouts on camera as the twisters churned to life over Louisiana waters yesterday (May 9). One of the powerful and unusually long-lived twisters damaged homes and cut power as it barreled across Grand Isle, a long, narrow island along the southeastern leg of the state's Gulf coastline.

The tornadoes formed at the front edge of a powerful storm system that moved across the region yesterday afternoon. Tim Osborn, a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coast Survey was just finishing up a meeting on Grand Isle when he spied a man out the window do a double-take and point to the skies. "He came running in and said, 'There's a waterspout out there!'" Osborn told OurAmazingPlanet. So Osborn grabbed his camera and started snapping, catching the birth of not one, but two waterspouts as they spun up over waters just north of the island. "You could clearly see them forming in the sky," he said, "and I was able to get them on the camera as they were starting to drop." Two spinning vortexes formed in the clouds and dropped lower and lower, until they reached the waters below, kicking up spray as they moved in formation toward the island. Osborn said he immediately called colleagues at the National Weather Service, who told him they'd been tracking the storm system. Less than 30 seconds later, tornado sirens began to wail. Osborn said that, in comparison to waterspouts he's seen in the past, these twisters were "really surprising. They not only grew in size, they traveled in tandem, and lasted longer than most - about 10 or 15 minutes."

The most common type of waterspout, called a fair-weather waterspout, is a short-lived affair that forms in the water itself and climbs skyward. They're typically far smaller and less dangerous than the waterspouts pictured above, known as tornadic waterspouts. These twisters can stay intact as they move over land, as Osborn observed, and sometimes wreak havoc as they do. "The one on the right was actually coming right at us," he said. "As it got closer, you could see that eye wall rotating, and rotating fast, and you could hear it ripping across the water." Osborn - and the Grand Isle residents who let him stand on their deck to take his pictures - were ready to head to the reinforced storeroom that was just a stairwell away at a moment's notice. One of the twisters plowed across the island, cutting power lines, ripping the roof from one home and battering seven others, and then continued out to the Gulf of Mexico. It left a swath of damage a quarter-mile long and 400 feet (122 meters) across, according to the National Weather Service. Power was restored about two hours after the storm hit, according to local media, and there are no reports of injuries. "The early detection, the sounding of the alarm, and police being out there with sirens was a very important effort that alerted people we had severe weather," Osborn said. "I believe that really was helpful in making sure people were aware, and that nobody got hurt." - Our Amazing Planet.