OCEAN PARK, Wash. - Authorities in Washington state say a young motorist repeatedly drove through flocks of federally protected shore birds on a beach, killing dozens of them.

State Fish and Wildlife Sgt. Dan L. Chadwick says he has the bodies of 34 birds killed near the coastal town of Ocean Park, located on the southwest Washington coast.

Chadwick said the young man could face a $5,000 fine and a year in jail for each dead and injured bird.

He said the 20-year-old man drove up and down the beach for three hours Friday with two friends, roaring through flocks of gulls and other birds at 40 to 60 mph.

Chadwick said the driver turned himself in and is cooperating with authorities.

"Anytime you drive recklessly like that through flocks of birds, they don't have time to escape, so it's pretty easy to kill them," said Sharnelle Fee of the Wildlife Center of the North Coast.

Only two birds were found alive, a Heermann's gull with two broken wings and a Caspian Tern with a broken wing, she said. They had to euthanize the gull due to its injuries but the Tern will likely recover, Fee said.

- The Associated Press contributed to this report