Seabirds like Flesh-footed Shearwaters are eating plastic from the ocean. Different ways of collecting birds show different amounts of plastic in their bodies. Birds found dead on beaches have more plastic than those washed up or killed on roads. Beached birds are usually in worse shape and have more plastic in them. To see changes in plastic over time, more beached birds need to be studied than lavaged birds. Studying lavaged birds is rare but important for understanding how much plastic seabirds are exposed to.