A story from KATU in Oregon reports on an alarming number of dead chicks being spotted on the state's beaches:

Oregon State University professor Rob Suryan says his  research assistant counted 300 dead murres along a three mile strech along Agate Beach. Suryan says there are probably more out there.

And it's pelicans - not tsunami debris - to blame, the professor says. There is a bird colony near the Yaquina Head Lighthouse with thousands of murres living there.  "On Monday night, a group of brown pelicans flew in and landed on our colony at a time when the adult murres are raising their chicks this time of year," said Suryan.

Watch the entire story on the KATU website: