From IBRRC’s Blog



The first oiled bird brought in for treatment at the Gulf Oil Spill, a juvenile Northern Gannet, is now recuperating in stable condition. The Gannet spends its time in the pool improving its water-proofing at the Fort Jackson, Louisiana wildlife rescue center. The second picture is of the first oiled Brown Pelican.



Day five

Hello everyone. I have been in Venice Louisiana for five days and finally have email access. I wanted to write a brief note to all the people who have wished us well, supported IBRRC and are watching the news as the spill in the gulf of Mexico progresses.

The weather has really hampered attempts to initiate a search and collection effort for oiled birds. As soon as the storm subsides and the safety officers decide that it is safe to go out looking for oiled birds then we will commence with that program.

IBRRC and Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research Inc. are not in charge of the wildlife collection program. It's being managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS). However, IBRRC and Tri-State are providing trained and experienced personnel to help with this effort. Six of our capture teams are currently on site and more are coming in the next few days. We hope to start going out in the field tomorrow.

On Monday, May 3, we received the second oiled bird. It was a Brown Pelican that was picked up in one of the remote islands in Southern Louisiana by the USFWS. The bird is in good condition. (See photo ^above^)

Many people have asked how we organize and manage a spill of this magnitude. It is impossible for one organization to attempt to manage the oiled wildlife rehabilitation program that incorporates four states, large quantities of oil and vast areas of shoreline. Because of this, Tri-state and IBRRC have once again joined forces and combined our individual oiled wildlife response teams into one larger team capable of handling a large spill such as this one.

Between both the organizations we have responded to about 400 oil spills. In this case Tri-State is taking the lead role and IBRRC is working in tandem with them to help provide oversight for the rehabilitation program.

In 2005 we worked together in the same area in Venice, Louisiana and cared for over 200 baby oiled pelicans that were oiled after a pipeline broke and crude oil was strewn over one of the islands in the Breton Island National Refuge during Tropical Storm Arlene. We have also partnered on many other spills in the U.S. and in other countries.

I will keep you all updated as we move ahead in this oil spill.

click

On the sixth day of the Gulf Oil Spill response, additional International Bird Rescue response team members has been activated, a brown pelican was successfully washed and we continue to assist Tri-State Bird Rescue in the set up of three more wildlife care centers.

Day Six

we washed the brown pelican that was captured yesterday. It was caught on Storm Island, on a small remote island in the outer barrier islands of the Mississippi Delta. I was told that there were other oiled pelicans seen but were not catchable at this point. We have still not been allowed to go out to these islands to look for birds. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is heading up the retrieval of oiled birds and there have been delays. However, we were able to get our search and capture teams activated for the first time today and are now out in the field looking for birds.

The brown pelican that was washed did great and took about 40 minutes to complete. We washed the bird during our 1 to 2 pm daily press conference and this allowed them to get some visuals on the bird. The press was cooperative and supportive of our work.

The other three centers are coming on line and they do not have any birds at this time. Tri-State and IBRRC staff continue to work diligently to bring these centers on line. DAWN has sent many cases of detergent to these three facilities and these will be shared with the turtle and mammal response groups as needed. The sea turtle and mammal response effort is being organized and managed by Dr. Mike Ziccardi of the Oiled Wildlife Care Network whom IBRRC works closely with in California.

IBRRC now has 16 response team members on the ground including veterinarians, wildlife rehabilitation managers and facilities and capture specialists.

As many of you know, IBRRC has responded to many oil spills over the years but have never experienced something like this where the spill seems to mostly be sitting in one large area and slowly moving back and forth at the mercy of the tides and weather. Although we know it is close to some shorelines it still has not hit the shore heavily in any area. Pelicans, terns and other plunge feeding birds are the most at risk as they will plunge into water to catch prey.

There are now Oiled Bird Rescue Centers in Fort Jackson, Louisiana, Theodore, Alabama and Pensacola, Florida.

If only the oil company and government were as prepared as these wildlife rescue centers! The day the rig exploded, IBRRC, together with OWCN (Oiled Wildlife Care Network) started mobilizing. Supplies were checked. Teams were chosen. They arrived at the site before any oil struck the shores and set up the rescue facilities. Rescue boats are in the water, searching for oiled wildlife to bring to the rescue centers. Many oiled birds don't make it to the shore, so we go to them.

The public needs to write letters to their elected representatives. Not only those who live near this oil spill, but everyone. As long as there is off-shore drilling and oil tankers in the ocean, the threat is there. Those who live inland should be as concerned as those who live near the coasts. We've got to protect our wildlife as well as our oceans.

Staff from IBRRC & Tri-State exam a peli

Here's an email I received from Jay Holcomb this morning:

As oil begins washing ashore at Louisiana’s Chandeleur Islands, a 16-person response team from International Bird Rescue Research Center is working with our partners at Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research to prepare temporary rescue facilities in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, while also assisting the search and rescue effort led by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Many people have asked how we organize a response to a spill of this magnitude. In our experience it’s impossible for one organization to manage a rescue effort this large—one that comprises four states, large quantities of oil and vast areas of shoreline. Because of this, Tri-State and IBRRC have once again joined forces and combined our oiled wildlife response teams into one larger team capable of handling a spill such as this.
Between the two organizations, we have responded to about 400 oil spills over the past 30 to 40 years. For this effort Tri-State is taking the lead role, and IBRRC is working in tandem to help provide oversight for the rehabilitation program. We are extremely proud of our long-standing friendship with the Tri-State team and we are honored to work alongside them here in the Gulf of Mexico.

Yesterday we had five capture teams in the field working with U.S. Fish and Wildlife. They were able to make it as far east as the Breton Islands and some of the Chandeleur Islands off the coast of Louisiana. A few oiled gulls and pelicans were sighted, but those birds had only spots of oil on their bellies. They were capable of flying and appeared to be in good condition. Six teams are out again today looking in different areas for oiled birds.

To date, the Louisiana Center has received four birds. The first two birds have been washed and are soon to be released in Florida. One oiled Gannet arrived at the Florida facility and is also stable. As has been said often in this response effort, we are continuing to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

I meant to link to this video last month... How we came to use Dawn for washing oiled birds

The DAWNing of Oiled Bird Washing

here's more information re: cleaning of birds going on down here......
http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/93834149.html

the woman in the middle of this picture used to be one of my Girl Scouts....and through Beans work last year, I learned that Heather was working in California and we have reaquainted after many years. this world just gets smaller nd smaller.....

Beans, I've thought about you and now I see that you are down here as well working on our birds!!! THANK YOU for what you are doing for the wild!!

The first two rescued birds were successfully released on the atlantic side of Florida last week.... a northern gannet and brown pelican.

Wildlife rehab is a lot of physical work, a lot of heartbreak, but it also has its rewards. When I see a USFWS band put on one of the birds at IBRRC, my heart is very happy! It's such an exciting moment when the box of bands is brought out. Each species has its own bands. For example, you can't put a band for a Canada Goose on another wild goose, even if their legs are the same size. And only licensed facilities and staff can put on the bands. Once the bird is banded, the information is entered at a special site that keeps track of ALL USFWS banded birds. And then there's the release: always gentle - the bird enters the wild with dignity and respect.

Back a few posts there should be a link to a video of a Western Grebe getting her band.

Well, I found the post: click here

I've talked so much about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. I'm not there, of course. I'm in Cordelia (it's actually a Fairfield address right next to the tiny village of Cordelia).



Last week our Guinea Fowl eggs hatched, and the keets were in one of our large shore bird boxes in ICU. Every effort is made to make them feel at home and give them the right care and food. There were about ten of them, all very active at 2 days old.

We put a feather duster in their box, and one of them managed to pluck out one of the feathers. Away he went, running across the shorebird box, around the shallow pan of water, down the side, and around the food container. Of course, the rest of them chased after him, and one managed to grab the feather out of his beak and run the other way. And then they were off again. These tiny legs, moving so fast, excited peeps! After all of that, they settled down into a soft clump, under their special heat lamp, and went to sleep. They woke up about fifteen minutes later, got something to eat, and it was the mad dash around the box with the feather once more.

I noticed that one of them had feces stuck to his vent, so I had to remove it with a cotton ball soaked in warm water. While doing that, he managed to poop again, so I knew his vent was clear. And I saw his very tiny belly button. He did not enjoy the procedure and was glad to be back with his brothers and sisters, joining in the never-ending game of "keep-away."

NB: That is a picture of another group of keets... I forgot to bring my camera, but I would have been to busy to use it anyway. But this is exactly the way they look, along with a few "blond" ones.