In death, rare bird rescued on Hilton Head after Irma offers lessons of life

Things were looking up for Jerry, the nickname given to a rare species of bird that washed up exhausted and dehydrated on a Hilton Head Island beach during Tropical Storm Irma.

Jerry — a Cory’s Shearwater, a species of sea birds that live on the open ocean and typically venture onto land only to nest on far-away islands in the Mediterranean Sea or off the coast of Africa — was rescued Sept. 11 by a local couple. He was quickly whisked away to Charleston for medical care at a clinic operated by the South Carolina Center for Birds of Prey.

“You could tell that there was a lot of trauma that happened to the bird through the process of this storm,” Emily Davis of the center said Thursday.

It was touch-and-go at first as Jerry struggled to regain strength and eat solid food. But after a couple of a days at the clinic, he appeared to be turning the corner, Davis said.

“We started seeing a lot of improvements — the bird became very bright and alert,” she said. “He was preening, he was vocalizing, and we were so optimistic.”

But Jerry’s progression toward recovery came to a screeching halt last week after clinic caregivers discovered roundworms in the bird’s digestive system.

“We came in one day and it was like everything had changed for the worse,” Davis said. “It was so quick.”

Jerry died on Sept. 21.

“It was really unexpected — he was doing great,” said Sherry Goff, who along with Joe Murray, found the bird near the Sea Pines Beach Club. “We were really emotionally invested, so (hearing the news of Jerry’s death) was very sad.”

Davis said roundworms and other similar parasites are common, and typically don’t cause serious problems for birds with healthy immune systems.

But because Jerry was still recovering from malnutrition and dehydration, “a decline (in the bird’s) health really started to take place,” Davis

“The bird had every shot to make it — it just didn’t happen,” she said. “We worked around the clock and did everything we could.”

Despite overwhelming sadness and disappointment over the death of the bird, Davis said there is a silver lining.

“With these types of sea birds, there’s so much we don’t know about them,” she said. “Through the process of having this bird, we have learned so much about this species.”

Davis and others at the South Carolina Center for Birds of Prey plan to work with ornithologists to continue studying Jerry in an effort to improve methods of caring for Cory’s Shearwaters. They also hope to learn more about how the climate and weather systems such as Tropical Storm Irma impact sea bird populations.

Goff said, “It’s sad, of course, but it was sort of like it was meant to be. He taught them something while he was alive and will continue to teach them things after his death.”

This story was originally published September 28, 2017 at 3:33 PM with the headline "In death, rare bird rescued on Hilton Head after Irma offers lessons of life."