Have you seen these small black and white birds in Myrtle Beach area? Here’s what they are
Grand Strand residents may have seen little black-and-white birds turning up in the Myrtle Beach area and along the coast.
They’re not penguins but dovekies.
There have been at least 15 dovekies found in the area since Saturday, said Keenan Freitas, the Carolina Wildlife Rehabilitation Center medical clinic director.
Dovekies are aquatic birds that live in cold Atlantic waters around Greenland and northern Canada. They can migrate as far south as the New England area.
“These recent storms have blown them way off course from where they began,” said Kimberly Cerimele, executive director of the Myrtle Beach Wildlife Rescue Center, referring to the storms on Saturday and Tuesday. She has been helping gather and bring them to The Center for Birds of Prey in Charleston.
Cerimele said four dovekies were found along Mr. Joe White Avenue over the weekend and another was found in North Myrtle Beach on Wednesday. There is no estimate as to how many are in the area.
The birds are very weak, as they had to survive the long trip down the coast and are out of their natural habitat. They get water from their food, so without food they are dehydrated and hungry. Cerimele said she thinks they like to land on dark-colored surfaces because the birds think it’s water, which is why they ended up on Mr. Joe White Avenue.
Freitas said all the birds brought in to their rehabilitation center have died. There are more rescued dovekies coming, but Freitas said he’s not hopeful they will survive.
Here’s what to do if you find one
If you find a dovekie, do not leave it near the ocean, rescuers said. Instead try to put the bird in a box, take it to a warm and safe place and call a wildlife rescue center, such as the Myrtle Beach Wildlife Rescue Center or the Carolina Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.
Make sure not to touch the dovekies as they have waterproof feathers and oil from a human’s skin could ruin that, Cerimele said.
You can call the Myrtle Beach Wildlife Rescue Center at 843-885-3083 or the Carolina Wildlife Rehabilitation Center at 800-388-2972.
This story was originally published January 10, 2024 at 12:55 PM.
