Dozens of dead birds washed up in North Myrtle Beach over the weekend, and no one knows exactly why. 

In a press release, the City of North Myrtle Beach spoke out to dispel rumors on social media about “hundreds” or “dozens” of birds found dead on the shore. 

A representative from SCDNR told the city that he found 30 dead birds on the beaches on Saturday. The next day, 10 more birds were found dead by city beach patrol.

The city works now to figure out what happened. No new birds washed up on the beach Monday, according to the city. 

But over the weekend, dead pelicans, water ducks, cormorants and seagulls were found up and down the shore.

“When you find them in these concentrations over a two-day period you’re thinking automatically that it has to be associated with some sort of event,” City Spokesperson Pat Dowling said. But right now the city doesn’t know what that event was.

There has been talk on social media that this was caused by the beach renourishment dredges, but Dowling said right now nothing suggests that. 

“We caution people to be very careful in that assessment, because the dredge operator was very cooperative with all agencies and helped in the search for any fuel leaks,” Dowling said. “None were found.”

The sight of so many dead birds has ruffled some beachgoers’ feathers. “Until we know what the reason is, it’s a little frightening,” Carolyn and Bob Meierjurgen, who often walk their dog on the beach, said.

Several times on Sunday U.S. Coast Guard and SCDHEC personnel flew the coast from Myrtle Beach, SC to Ocean Isle Beach, NC looking for signs of diesel or other fuel spills on the water. “They did not see any fuel-related slicks or any evidence of something on the surface of the ocean,” Dowling said. 

Samples of each of the four bird species were sent to a lab in Georgia for testing. The city hopes that’ll bring more answers. “We’re hopeful they can say, ‘Yep, this is the reason they died,'” Dowling said. “Sometimes they say nothing specific.”

A spokesperson for SCDNR told News13 on the phone those results could take days or weeks.

We’ll continue to follow this story and bring you any more information as we get it.