When they reach the shore, they will maneuver themselves along the shoreline. THE mystery of exactly where albatrosses go when they wander across the ocean in between breeding seasons has been solved. The dead birds are victims of avian botulism, an annual problem that plagues the Salton Sea, one of the most important stopovers from migratory birds flying along the Pacific coast of North America. The area is on the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund list of highly contaminated sites. Since 1996, about 130,000 cubic yards of waste have been dredged from the river mouth and harbor where it flows into Lake Michigan.
Scientists say poor weather has cut the bird's supply of plant food.
Environmental gains are measured in tiny steps. Witness the two dozen folks from local governments, watershed councils and consulting firms thrashing through weeds at Stony Creek Metropark on Tuesday, struggling to assess the merits of small wetlands. While it is well-known that worms improve the soil for gardening, scientists contend that their voracious appetites have decreased plant diversity in several Minnesota forests. Since the early 1990s, environmentally conscious Australians have been reintroducing tadpoles into ponds and streams in an attempt to bolster flagging populations. But the practice could drive some species of frog to extinction.