INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, Fla. (WFTS) – It was an unexpected impact in Florida from Hurricane Milton.
After the storm, seabirds were left nearly buried alive, trapped in grass and sand.
Thankfully, some of those birds were rescued and are now on the mend.
Two boys, ages 4 and 2 years old, get the credit for spotting some of the cormorants; one’s head was barely visible under the seagrass and another struggled to escape a few feet away.
Shelley Vickery, director for Birds in Helping Hands, said it was not normal that they got swept up in the surge.
“It was the first time we’ve ever seen that,” Vickery said.
The birds were found dehydrated and had several other issues.
“One had legs that were atrophied, so they kind of fell asleep. He couldn’t even stand,” Vickery said. “They had this will to live out there two days not being able to move, so we really were excited to help them and then kind of brokenhearted that they were out there for two days.”
Normally, the group would take their injured birds to Seaside Seabird Sanctuary in Indian Shores, but for now, they can’t accept more because their avian hospital flooded and was severely damaged from the storm surge during Hurricane Helene.
“To see them being affected the way they are, that’s a clear indication that a lot is wrong right now, but they really are incredible creatures and they’re so important to the health of our ecosystems,” Dylan Hahn, assistant hospital manager at Seaside Seabird Sanctuary, said.
If not for the two children who made the discovery in the sand, some of the birds may not have survived.
“If you hadn’t gone over and tried to pet them and scream, they would still be out there,” Vickery said. “They would be dead by now, for sure.”
Vickery said the birds are now doing great during rehabilitation at a facility in Venice.
“They were standing up and doing well, so we were really excited to hear about that,” Vickery added.
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