'Something strange': Family finds convulsing seagulls at Magic Mountain

Three young seagulls are recovering at the Atlantic Wildlife Institute, near Sackville, after being rescued from the parking lot at Moncton's Magic Mountain on Monday afternoon.

Noah Donovan of Saint John discovered six convulsing seagulls at the popular water park and said they all appeared dazed and could not fly.

"When we went closer to [one], it looked like it was still alive and it was moving and everything," he said. "The further we went the more seagulls we found.

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"If you ever go near a seagull, they usually fly away before you can get anywhere near them. But these ones you could go right up to them and if you wanted you could touch them."

Barry Rothfuss, executive director of the Atlantic Wildlife Institute, a Canadian charity that cares for wildlife, said he collected three birds himself after following all necessary regulations.

"We found three juvenile herring gulls that were convulsing on the pavement," he said. "There were no dead birds on site."

Rothfuss said the birds were all tube fed an "activated charcoal."

"This morning they're up and standing and running around," Rothfuss said.

'Something bad happened' 

Donovan said he's hoping the birds will be tested to find out what made them so ill.

"I don't think this is accidental, something bad happened," he said. 

Rothfuss said the birds likely ingested something that was toxic to them, possibly something with a high sugar content.

"I'm only guessing but it could have been something that was fed to them unintentionally by visitors of the park that was toxic to them but may not have been toxic to the people," he said.

"It seemed to be only juveniles and if there were others seen they may not have been as adversely affected and they probably flew off after the initial effects."

Rothfuss hopes the birds will be released after consulting with government wildlife authorities.

Donovan said he would also like more easily accessible information online about which agency to call to deal with sick or injured wildlife, like migratory birds.

"It took me over an hour to find the right connections for someone to help them and even then I didn't get the answer I needed," he said.

"I'm pretty good with social media and stuff like that so I knew … to post it online and see if anyone knew what to do but I don't think anyone would have known what to do in those circumstances."