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The Morning Buzz had an item the other day about a large flock of Caspian and elegant terns—rarely seen here—colonizing two rock barges in Long Beach Harbor. Today comes word that 300 to 500 chicks have washed up dead on the beach. The initial take blames "a disturbance caused by humans."
“It appears these birds were forced from the barges and drowned to death,” said Erin Kellogg of the San Pedro-based International Bird Rescue Research Center, whose agency took in 12 living terns found on the beach.“They're just babies. They couldn't swim.”