Death by Bridge: 30 Days, 36 Seagulls Dead

Thirty-eight birds were collected from the side of the road near an Ocean City bridge, only two survived.

Thirty days, 36 dead seagulls. And it appears that a $400 million bridge in Ocean City, New Jersey is to blame.

According to the Ocean City Humane Society, seagulls are dying while making their way across the newly-reopened Ninth Street Bridge to a new fishing pier. The Humane Society says the gulls are getting caught in winds that draw them in, causing them to nosedive into bridge traffic, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.

In the last month, at least 38 injured or dead gulls were collected on the side of the road.

"You can't go out there any day without seeing birds at the side of the road," the Humane Society's executive director Bill Hollingsworth told the Inquirer.

The birds on the bridge are herring gulls who fish and hunt for their food. They are attracted to the area because of the fishing pier.

"They want to get to that fishing pier. There's no way to have foreseen this," Humane Society manager Angela Coyle told the Inky.

The newly-renovated Ninth Street Bridge, which is one of four bridges that make up the Route 52 Causeway, was reopened in May.  

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