Volunteers and biologists walking the beaches of northwestern Michigan's Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore the past few days have counted nearly 300 dead or dying loons and other fish-eating birds, according to Bob Campbell in the Free Press.
The birds are all victims of botulism that has scientists concerned about the changing ecology of the Great Lakes.
"This last couple days has been off the charts," Dan Ray, a biologist in charge of a project monitoring the botulism among fish-eating birds at the park, told the paper. "I'm sitting here looking at our graph and for the loons, this appears to be one of the worst seasons."
The death of loons -- with their haunting two-note cry and striking looks -- gets the public nervous, too, Ray said.
"It's almost strange from a biologist's standpoint," he said. "When loons show up (dead), people freak out."
