Topics: dead birds, department of environment and heritage protection, kinka beach

WHAT is usually a pleasant stroll along the beach for Grant Norton and Trudi McDonald became an upsetting ordeal for the couple recently after a grim discovery.

It was on Sunday morning when the pair came across 16 dead birds and a dead turtle on Kinka Beach at the Capricorn Coast.

Trudi said they had been walking the beaches almost every day lately for the past few months and had never seen anything like this before.

"What's causing it? It needs to be looked into," she said.

"There was black stuff coated around it (the birds)it's just too many."

A Department of Environment and Heritage Protection spokesperson said the department has received many reports of dead short-tailed shearwaters, or muttonbirds, being found on Queensland beaches.

"This may continue along the Queensland coast over the next few months," the spokesperson said.

"The shearwaters are on their annual migration from northern Russia to rookeries in Victoria and South Australia. Unfortunately, the birds can succumb to exhaustion along the way."

In response to the dead turtle sighting, the spokesperson said at this stage EHP has received no reports of a dead turtle on Kinka Beach.

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Dead tired muttonbirds found on Capricorn Coast beaches