tagged w/ Bird Rehabilitation
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08:06 AM ET
3,634 dead birds collected in Gulf, wildlife service says
A laughing gull wallows in sludge in June on East Grand Terre Island, Louisiana.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the first time is breaking down the species of oiled birds collected - alive and dead - in the Gulf of Mexico since the April 20 BP well blowout.
As of Tuesday, 4,676 birds had been collected; 3,634 of those were dead. Of the dead birds, 1,226 were visibly oiled.
Of the dead birds, the largest numbers are laughing gulls (1,591), followed by brown pelicans (376) and northern gannets (182).
Live birds are taken to rehabilitation centers in Hammond, Louisiana; Gulfport, Mississippi; Theodore, Alabama; and Pensacola, Florida.
Once the birds are stabilized, they undergo several washings, feedings, and the collection of vital health information. They stay at the rehabilitation centers until their natural body oils are replenished and they are sufficiently recovered for release, the Fish and Wildlife Service said.
Rehabilitated birds are banded and released into suitable habitats along the coast where they are not likely to get oiled again.08:06 AM ET
3,634 dead birds collected in Gulf, wildlife service says
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GETTY IMAGES
A worker uses a shovel to remove an oil glob from the beach Thursday, July 1, in Biloxi, Mississippi.GETTY IMAGES
A worker uses a shovel to remove an oil glob from the beach Thursday,... more
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By Tom Foreman, CNN
June 23, 2010 10:43 a.m. EDT
Fairhope, Alabama (CNN) -- Mark Castlow and Jimbo Meador have a solution for saving the oil-covered birds in the Gulf of Mexico. However, they also have a problem.
I saw the solution firsthand during a quick ride through a Gulf inlet, near Meador's home of Fairhope, Alabama, about a 20-minute drive outside Mobile.
The two co-owners of Florida-based Dragonfly Boatworks have been working at a breakneck pace for weeks to modify the design of their shallow draft fishing boats, turning them into mobile triage units for pelicans, seagulls, and pretty much any kind of critter caught in the catastrophe.
Their concern on the 65th day of the underwater gusher is deep rooted. Castlow, who says he has "salt water in his blood," grew up surfing off Miami and the Keys. Meador, a former shrimper, was raised along Alabama's Gulf shores.
They're keenly aware that each day adds to the death toll of birds and other animals dying in pockets of oil that invade their natural habitat.
"We have to do everything we can to take care of them," said Meador, who said he has a serious interest in the "birding world." "We want to do try to do what's right to help them because they can't help themselves."
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Unlike more traditional boats, which have deep keels that bog down when they push into shallow marshlands, the custom Dragonfly boats can operate in less than a foot of water.
Their broad hulls create very little wake that might further alarm wildlife; and they've even been painted a light green color to blend better with their surroundings.
On board, Castlow and Meador have added a whole set of tools to help wildlife rescuers: a large, skid-proof worktable for crews to handle animals, an adjustable shade canopy which can be easily lowered to slip beneath bayou tree branches, fine mist nozzles to cool the scorching summer temperatures for workers and critters. The oil won't hamper the boat's engines, thanks to a special cleaning solution.
The men consulted wildlife biologists and other scientists as they rushed to make the improvements, and they've found big donors, like Florida musician Jimmy Buffett, who are willing to help them make the boats available to rescuers free of charge.
The vessels will be outfitted with wireless Internet access, and plans are in the works to team up with Google Earth to enable anyone to track the boats online in real time. Onboard Web cameras donated by a group in Houston, Texas, will allow classrooms or anyone else to watch rescuers in action.
So far, Buffett has funded construction of one prototype boat, according to the duo. The plan is to produce a new boat every seven days from here on out. After the cleanup, the animal rescue groups will be allowed to keep the boats for use in research projects.
No one will make money off of the deal, but the animals could benefit immensely, including brown pelicans, a species native to the eastern Gulf which has fallen victim to the oil. Brown pelicans spent almost 40 years on the endangered species list until last year.
Salvaging just a few of the birds is so vital to the survival of the species, said Lee Hollingsworth, a wildlife adviser with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in Wales. "Something has got to be done, and of course, it's worth saving the bird."
Every day adds to the death toll of the region's birds and other animals. According to a June 22 report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, rescue officials have collected 1,746 birds along the coastline from Louisiana to Florida. Of those, 749 were alive and "visibly oiled." Another 997 were found dead, and 265 of those were visibly oiled. Birds that were found alive and then euthanized numbered 143. The report states BP's Deepwater Horizon spill is not responsible for all dead birds.
Although the vessels have been praised by wildlife experts, including marine biologists at the University of Southern Mississippi, Castlow and Meador say they've run into dead ends trying to get their boats into the hands of animal rescuers.
They've called federal authorities and BP too, but they say no one seems able to willing to tell them how and when the boats might be put to work.
Castlow and Meador call their support network the DEA, the Dragonfly Environmental Army, which is made up of those who have extended a helping hand, which include suppliers, donors and volunteers. They're hoping the combined forces of their group can break through the bureaucracy and get their boats in the hands of animal rescuers.
It is frustrating to both men, but they say they've been so encouraged by wildlife experts who have universally praised their innovation, that they're pressing on, convinced that no less than the lives of thousands of birds are at stake, and the future of their beloved Gulf too.
"And we're going to get all of these people, and we are going to break that ceiling," said Castlow. "And we will go through it -- because it's our livelihood."
CNN's Katie Ross and Eliott C. McLaughlin contributed to this reportBy Tom Foreman, CNN
June 23, 2010 10:43 a.m. EDT
Fairhope, Alabama (CNN) -- Mark... more
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By Eliott C. McLaughlin, CNN
June 10, 2010 6:18 p.m. EDT
A brown pelican coated in heavy oil tries to take flight on East Grand Terre Island, Louisiana.
Some experts see it as a well-meaning flight of fancy. To others, cleaning a bird soaked with oil from the Gulf of Mexico is the only chance it has for survival.
In the case of the brown pelican, removed last year from the endangered species list, it may be the only way to save the entire lot.
"It's like triage on a battlefield. You have to weigh where you can have your best success," said Ginette Hemley, the World Wildlife Fund's senior vice president for conservation strategies and science.
Earlier this week, a German biologist painted a less rosy picture in an interview with the magazine Der Spiegel. Silvia Gaus of the Wattenmeer National Park said it was more humane to euthanize the birds because they will suffer a painful death regardless of whether the oil is scrubbed from their feathers.
"According to serious studies, the middle-term survival rate of oil-soaked birds is under 1 percent," Gaus told the magazine. "We, therefore, oppose cleaning birds."
The statement spotlighted a similar statement in 2002 from the World Wildlife Fund, which said it was reluctant to advise cleaning birds after the Prestige spill off the coast of Spain. In that incident, a sunken tanker dumped about 20 million gallons of oil off the Galician coast.
The fund issued a statement earlier this week saying its 2002 remarks could not fairly be applied to the situation in the Gulf of Mexico. Thursday marked Day 52 of the gusher.
"In many cases, WWF believes there is value in trying to clean and rehabilitate wildlife, especially if productive, viable adult animals can recover from exposure to oil," the release said. "But every situation is different, and it is too soon to fully calculate the impact the Gulf spill will have on the long-term viability of populations of many species in the region."
Hemley said it could take up to three years to determine the spill's total impact on wildlife.
According to Wednesday's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service numbers, rescue officials have collected 1,075 birds. Of those, 442 were alive and "visibly oiled." Another 633 were found dead, and 109 of those were visibly oiled.
The report states BP's Deepwater Horizon spill is not responsible for all dead birds.
"How long will the birds survive that have been cleaned and released? We don't know yet," Hemley said, explaining it depends on a variety of factors.
Included are how quickly the bird was saved, the bird's age and size and the length of exposure to the oil, she said.
Lee Hollingsworth, a wildlife adviser with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in Wales, said other concerns are the level of saturation and how much oil a bird has ingested.
Seabirds' feathers are weatherproofed by natural oils, stimulated by a gland in their lower back. This is why birds nuzzle their tail feathers when they're preening, Hollingsworth said.
"If that gland is damaged," he said, "then that no longer secretes oil."
Other rescue methods, such as holding the birds in captivity to protect them or moving them to a new habitat, can be dangerous as well, he said. Captivity is stressful, and changing a bird's environment introduces it to new prey and predators, whereas it was accustomed to its food and enemies in its natural habitat.
Many birds are quite specialized, he said, and don't do well in artificial, foreign or zoo-like environs.
The Welsh society joined the World Wildlife Fund in 2002, saying that heavily oiled birds could not be helped.
But on Thursday, Hollingsworth said the 8-year-old statement was specific to the situation in Spain, which happened in chilly November. The Gulf is warm, which could bode well for the birds, he said.
"The majority of [birds affected by the Prestige incident] didn't survive anyway. That, again, is due to the ingestion of oil and weatherproofing," he said.
Hollingsworth said many people cleaning birds are working for charities that don't receive much government funding, and it's important for such groups to prioritize their efforts and target areas where they'll do the most good.
In the Gulf of Mexico, that may mean focusing on brown pelicans. The birds, which are native to the Atlantic Coast and eastern Gulf, spent almost 40 years on the endangered species list until last year
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"The chances of success increase every time we deal with one of these unfortunate situations. ... Hopefully we're getting better at this.
--Ginette Hemley, World Wildlife Fund
When salvaging just a few birds is so vital to the survival of a species, Hollingsworth said, "something has got to be done, and of course it's worth saving the bird."
Despite conflicting studies on the viability of washing birds, there are plenty of success stories. The International Bird Rescue and Research Center, which is working in the Gulf, cites several examples on its website.
After the 2000 Treasure spill off the coast of South Africa, rescuers saved 21,000 African penguins and released about 19,500 birds back into their colonies, according to the center.
The website notes rescuers also saved 32 snowy plovers after the 1999 New Carissa spill off the Oregon coast, 180 king eiders after a 1996 spill near Alaska's Pribilof Islands and 175 waterfowl after California's Santa Clara River spill of 1991.
"It may seem like a small number but it was significant to us, as we knew what those animals endured being covered in very heavy and thick oil," wrote Jay Holcomb, the center's executive director.
Hemley said the wildlife fund would generally "err on the side of recovering birds." After all, she said, it's not costly to rinse the birds and let them rest before scrubbing them with Dawn, the dishwashing liquid whose motto once was, "Takes grease out of your way."
Rescuers are always looking to improve on their methods for saving animals, and they've learned a lot since the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill off the coast of Southern California, she said.
"The chances of success increase every time we deal with one of these unfortunate situations," Hemley said. "Hopefully we're getting better at this."By Eliott C. McLaughlin, CNN
June 10, 2010 6:18 p.m. EDT
A brown pelican coated in... more
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"A BP gas station in Ohio wants you to know you're responsible for small spills made when you leave the pump unattended. What about gigantic spills made when ignoring safety warnings? Oh, they're just happy, ignorable accidents. [Flickr via @BigBoxCar]""A BP gas station in Ohio wants you to know you're responsible for small... more
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