Authorities search for men who lured and shot seagulls

State wildlife officials are searching for the men who fatally shot 10 seagulls and a crow Saturday morning on the Long Beach Peninsula.

According to Sgt. Dan Chadwick, with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, a witness saw about six men standing around a campfire and drinking beer on Seaview Beach, at the south end of the peninsula. The witness returned later and saw the dead seagulls and called police.

Investigators found broken beer bottles, hot-dog wrappers and hot dogs on the beach. Chadwick believes the men baited the birds with the hot dogs and then shot them.

The men were described as in their late 20s or early 30s. They were in a dark sedan and a pickup.

Chadwick said there were nine dead seagulls on the beach and one crow. An injured seagull was captured and sent to the Wildlife Center of the North Coast near Astoria, Ore., where it died Monday.

Sharnelle Fee, director of the center, said two bullets found in the bird will be removed and given to authorities for ballistics tests.

"We have a lot of trouble with beaches where cars are allowed to drive on," she said. Seagulls sometimes get run over, but the multiple killings are unusual. The fact that the birds were baited is particularly troubling, she said.

"It's one thing to take a potshot, but to bait them and shoot them is pretty premeditated," Fee said.

The center has offered a $500 reward for information leading to the conviction of those responsible for the shooting.

Seagulls are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and killing or harming them is punishable by a $1,000 fine for each bird and 90 days in jail.

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com