Local birds feeling the impact of red tide

A bird expert offers tips on living with shorebirds.

BY LESLIE LAKE SUN CORRESPONDENT | llake@amisun.com

BRADENTON BEACH - In addition to the typical human disruptions faced by local shorebirds, they are now contending with a food supply impacted by red tide, according to Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Inc.

The animal rehabilitation organization is reporting nearly double the number of birds being treated there than at this time last year, many of them showing signs of malnutrition.

“The birds are not eating because they know the fish are bad,” Wildlife Inc. volunteer Krista Carpenter said. “So they don’t have a food supply. Also, toxins from the algae are affecting them.”

Red tide has caused fish kills in local waters for the past several months. Karenia brevis, the Florida red tide organism, kills fish by producing a potent toxin called brevetoxin that affects the central nervous system of the fish. The toxin can also affect birds, sea turtles, marine mammals and other marine life, according to Sarasota-based Mote Marine.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), “Red tide will cause changes in the abundance and distribution of fishes, which will be accompanied by changes in the patterns of habitat used by birds. Birds will be