Mass seabird deaths prompt federal attention

Common Murres, like the one held by FWS Leslie Slater on the beach along the Spit in Homer, are turning up along beaches all around the Kachemak Bay area. (Photo: Leslie Slater, FWS) 
A federal agency is calling for more research into large-scale mortality of common murres and other seabirds off Alaska’s coast.
The National Wildlife Health Center, an arm of the U.S. Geological Survey that assesses the impact of disease on wildlife, on Friday issued a wildlife bulletin on the deaths of