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About when balloons fly, seabirds die.
Balloon clips removed from a Flesh-footed shearwater in 2016. Source: Ian Hutton
Photo: Ian Hutton
Photo: Ian Hutton
The CSIRO (2016) recently outlined balloons to be in the top three most harmful pollutants threatening marine wildlife. Every day balloons are released or accidentally escape from outdoor events where they almost definitely end up in waterways and the ocean where they can be mistaken by wildlife for food.
You can help. Promise to protect wildlife and pledge to never use balloons outdoors.
Case Study
Year after year balloon-related waste is one of the most prevalent and identifiable items found in the stomachs of Flesh-footed Shearwater chicks on the Australia's Lord Howe Island. In many cases, adult birds are feeding their chicks this rubbish thinking it is food. Baby birds are often found underweight and starving and can die before ever leaving the nest.
Measuring the impact of this campaign
With help from our partners we will monitor the prevalence of balloons and their attachments ending up on beaches and in the stomachs of shearwater chicks over time. We aim to observe the eventual elimination of balloons and their attachments in the environment.
Meet the seabirds most affected by balloons
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Flesh-footed Shearwaters - near threatened
These migratory birds breed in colonies, with one of their main colonies found on Lord Howe Island. Here their numbers are in decline due to mistakenly ingesting rubbish and even feeding it to their chicks.
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Short-tailed Shearwaters
Short-tailed Shearwaters are one of the few migratory birds that come to Australia to breed on Phillip Island. Both parents feed their chicks when they return from foragng at sea, and the shearwaters remain on the island until April, when the fledglings are strong enough to start the 15,000 km flight back to Alaska.