These aren’t the kind of photos we like to see of birds in a wildlife refuge

These aren’t the kind of photos we like to see of birds in a wildlife refuge.

This week, the Bird Alliance of Oregon and the Klamath Water Users Association gathered these pictures of dead birds at the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, where the wetlands are drying out in the summer heat and creating the perfect conditions for an outbreak of avian botulism.

A lack of water in the refuge since June has exposed soil containing the bacteria that causes botulism. When birds eat insects containing this bacteria the very powerful toxin prevents them from flying or even holding their heads up, so they often drown.

Bird advocates, farmers and ranchers in the Klamath Basin are asking federal water managers to help by sending water to the refuge from Upper Klamath Lake in Southern Oregon. This is a complicated request because there are endangered suckerfish in the lake that also need water.

Moss Driscoll with the Klamath Water Users Association said refuge staff collected about 500 dead birds earlier this week.

“This is a travesty that nobody wants to see happen,” Driscoll said. “This is a challenging time, but there is water available to do this.”

Teresa Wicks, a field coordinator for Bird Alliance of Oregon, saw dozens of dead birds when she visited the refuge this week. Without more water in the refuge, she fears a repeat of the avian botulism outbreak in 2020 that killed 60,000 birds at the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

“It’s not dead birds everywhere yet,” Wicks said, “but it would be really ideal if we didn’t get there because within the Pacific Flyway the Klamath refuges are really important to migrating birds.”