Someone in the Bay Area has been putting beer cans around the necks of gulls, say birders and wildlife advocates.

Seagulls fitted with collars made out of beer cans have been showing up around the Bay Area, and wildlife advocates want to put a stop to it. The IBRRC, perhaps more commonly associated with efforts to rescue birds caught in oil spills, reports that birds bearing the can collars have been spotted at Lake Merced, Pier 39 and other locations from Half Moon Bay and around region.

The two organizations collaborating on this effort, International Bird Rescue (Fairfield) and WildRescue (Monterey), are seeking the public’s help is locating the birds. They ask that instead off attempting to capture the birds, which can make them more wary and harder to catch, sightings should be reported immediately by calling (707) 207-0380 Ext. 110 or emailing no_cal_center@ibrrc.org.

“This is a federal crime punishable by severe fines, imprisonment, or both,” says Rebecca Dmytryk, with WildRescue, one of the groups spearheading this effort. …

Through an anonymous donor, a $1,000.00 reward being is being offered for the arrest and prosecution of the person or persons committing these crimes.

The amount of the reward also has been reported at $2,000 but that report could not be independently confirmed by the Bulletin.

Photo: Don Battle/IBRRC