Six decapitated little penguins and 28 dead birds found on South Coast beaches

Six little penguins were discovered on Barlings Beach near Batemans Bay on Wednesday morning (August 16) with their heads "ripped off", according to Australian Seabird and Turtle Rescue.

Lisa Hood, the South Coast branch coordinator of the group said they are puzzled as to why the penguins had been decapitated and why they were on Barlings Beach in the first place.

"The question is, why were there six penguins on Barlings Beach? It's not common for them to be there," she said.

"They swim around all day and head back to their colonies at night.

"They don't wander around like that."

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She said little penguins (or fairy penguins) were more likely to remain on the beach when they moult between February and April, but during cooler months they generally stay away from the beach.

The nearest known little penguin colony is at Montague Island-barunguba which has seen up to 8000 living on the island.

"The rest of their bodies were perfect," she said. The penguins were not malnourished and were not visibly diseased, but were scattered across the sand.

She said foxes may be to blame for the penguin's deaths, however that did not explain why the penguins were lingering on the beach.

"We know something has predated on them. We're trying to work out why they went on the beach - that's the million dollar question."

She said the bodies were quickly sent to Sydney for a veterinary pathologist.

"We are trying to rule out any diseases that made them go to the shoreline."

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The group are also waiting to receive pathology reports on 20 Australasian gannets which were discovered dead on beaches across the South Coast.

Nine gannets were found at Currarong Beach in July, and another 10 were recently discovered at Berrara. One has been found on Tomakin Beach and one on Coila Beach in Tuross Head in the last week.

"I assumed the gannets weren't finding food and had starved, but the ones we found weren't skinny at all and there weren't any diseases present," Ms Hood said.

A spokesperson from WIRES said they were working with rescuers on the South Coast to find the cause of the deaths.

Eight silver gulls were also found on Surf Beach in various states of poor health on August 17.

Ms Hood said four deceased and four sick silver gulls were sent to Sydney for tests and rehabilitation. Overnight, the birds' health was restored after fluid therapy, which would rule out the possibility of botulism caused by ingesting toxins.

She said the rehabilitation of the gulls may point to poisoning from recent algal blooms, or "red blooms" which were spotted at Broulee on August 11.

"Normally, more than one species are affected by the toxicity of algal blooms."

"Now we're hypothesising if it was the algal bloom that made [the penguins] crook. It can make them weak and stumble around, but it's all speculative at this stage."

WIRES mid-South Coast branch chair Janelle Renes said they are working closely with Australian Seabird and Turtle Rescue South Coast and urge people to report dead or sick wildlife.

"The Eurobodalla Shire Council have been informed and any information from the community would be much appreciated," Ms Renes said.

Ms Hood said if people come across wildlife sick or dead wildlife, they should stay near it to prevent it from being preyed on until it can be collected.

"There are probably going to be more birds affected and we need fresh bodies [to conduct further tests]."

If people cannot stay with the wildlife, they can take a photo, record the location, time and date and report it to rescuers.

If you see dead or sick wildlife on the beach, call Australian Seabird and Turtle Rescue South Coast on 0431 282 238.