Passerines drowning in the ocean
I can't sleep. Yesterday, I went on a pelagic survey with avian biologists and birders. And we were about 15 miles away from the coast of Southern California when we found passerines flying overhead: at least 20 Wilson's Warblers, 2 Western Tanagers, 1 Townsend's Warbler, 1 Hermit Warbler, and 1 Hammond's Flycatcher. There were probably more, but I had to step away from the observation deck for the last hour. Some flew past and we lost sight of them. Others landed on the deck to rest or were found struggling in the water, and we rescued them.
We rescued 2 Wilson's Warblers and 1 Hammond's Flycatcher, but one of the Wilson's Warblers died before we reached land. There were many more in the water. I wanted to save more, but the captain said there is no time. I am so sad for the birds we couldn't save. One biologist said he would guess the number of passerine deaths out there yesterday was in the thousands. This is very distressing. What an awful way to die.
Someone said that last year they even saw 2 hummingbirds on this route. How did all these passerines get so far away from the coast? Does this always happen in migration? Or are unusual factors causing this?
Please excuse my ignorance on this topic. I tried researching before asking, but I could only find articles on seabirds dying from starvation, not passerines drowning. I am grateful for any insight and time you can offer to this discussion, thank you so much.