The extreme heat has prompted the death of dozens of seabirds in Seattle, reports King5.
State wildlife officials have been monitoring a colony of Caspian Terns that jumped from the roof of an industrial roof.
Washington Department Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) investigators believe that Monday's (June 28) triple-digit temperatures led a mass of juvenile terns to leave rooftop nests in search of cooler temperatures.
Because the young birds can't fly yet they fell to the pavement below, causing many deaths and injuries.
Conservation scientist Kersti Muul with the Seattle Audubon Society was called to assist when officials found out about the mass mortality event.
“They were stuck on the ground, the asphalt was burning them,” she said.
Around 90 birds are believed to have died at the site which was near a concrete plant off Highway 99 south of downtown, according to King5.
Out of the 50 live birds PAWS Wildlife Center received, between 16 and 20 were treated and returned on Tuesday, June 29.
“I've never encountered anything like this,” PAWS wildlife veterinarian Nicki Rosenhagen told King5. “And of course, this is unprecedented heat, right. And so this is not a situation that we've had to face before.”
Muul says the scene is a reminder that climate impacts are already here.
“In the short term, this was not preventable,” she said. “But I think in the long term, there's definitely things that we can start doing now to start preventing this kind of thing. You know, it's not really a one-off because these things are starting to happen more and more frequently. The weather's changing, it's getting hotter.”