Jwnix, have you considered volunteering? Local volunteers are needed. Part of me wishes I were there, but someone has to stay behind and take care of the animals here.

I've stopped updating this thread with daily reports. There is so much on the news now, I think everyone knows what's going on there.

If one lives more than an hour away, it's difficult to volunteer. I have to drive 45 minutes to IBRRC and 40 minutes to Lindsay Wildlife Museum's hospital.

I can't bear to post these pictures of the oiled birds, so if you want to see them go to the link below:

Oiled Birds

I thought I saw devastation when I was dealing with oiled birds during the Cosco Busan oil spill in San Francisco Bay (November, 2007), but that pales in comparison...

Yes, staff and trained volunteers from IBRRC are still in the Gulf.

I'm off for a few days of vacation.

here are some current updates and information......josephine

Sad but true ... some horrific, heart-wrenching pictures that really brings
the message home ...
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/0 ... ent-35/?hp

"Only a few pelagic birds have been brought in - the first bird rescued was a Northern Gannett, and there was at least one Magnificent Frigatebird that was rescued, but was too badly injured to be saved. Those birds are wide-ranging, and, as you point out, do not typically float and almost never come to land where they could be found. For most scientists I've talked to, the presumption is that many are diving into oil and never being rescued. Some may be seen by ships in the Gulf or may end up near oil rigs and platforms. Someone from IBRRC was talking the other day about innovative ways to try to capture some of those birds. But there would still be very few that would even be found, and they would have a longer trip to the rescue facility than some birds. So, most affected pelagic birds will not be noticed, recovered, or rescued. " MDriscoll
//////////////

" Just wanted to make a few comments on the "sinking seabird" thread as
well as the oiled bird rehab effort....

--the terms "seabird" and "pelagic" are being used pretty loosely. Species
such as Royal or Sandwich terns may forage up to several miles from shore,
sometimes farther, but they are not obligate pelagics like storm-petrels,
shearwaters, etc.

--contrary to what appears to be developing into a new myth, seabirds do not
sink. I have a fair amount of experience in this area. There are plenty of
examples of large numbers of (unoiled) seabirds dying at sea and then
washing up on beaches. I don't know much about the buoyancy dynamics of
oiled birds, but if Laughing Gulls still float after being drenched in crude
oil and loosing all of their water repellency, then it doesn't make sense
that other species would not also float. Pelicans and sulids are probably
relatively more buoyant due to the layer of impact-absorbing air sacs under
the skin. Most oiled birds are being contaminated by floating surface oil,
so the oil does not necessarily make them less buoyant, and possibly makes
them more buoyant.

--RE rehab efforts, it does not make sense to me that large numbers of oiled
birds are being found in the Grand Isle area but there is no rehab operation
at Grand Isle. Unless things have changed in the last few days, these poor
birds are transported to the Fort Jackson facility. That's a 5 hour trip by
car or a 1-2 hour trip by boat, with no apparent effort to triage the birds
until they get to Fort Jackson. Go figure. If that's not the case, please
educate me."

Steve Cardiff

Here is another point of view on the pelicans.


http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/20 ... -kill-them

A few weeks ago, a young coyote was found stuck in a canal in Antioch. He was only about three and a half months old and was separated from his family. Contra Costa Animal Services rescued the young coyote and then brought him to the Lindsay Museum wildlife hospital.

The initial exam showed that the coyote was mildly dehydrated, had ticks in each of his ears, but was otherwise in good shape. Staff gave him fluids for the dehydration, removed the ticks and cleaned his ears.

The next morning, the coyote had eaten all the mice and rats that staff had placed in his kennel and he was deemed a fit candidate to reunite with his family. Staff connected with the coyote's original finder who located the area where he had seen the adult female coyote.

The young coyote was placed by a nearby tree, and soon he jumped up and started running. A few minutes later, staff saw him duck down into a den. He was safely home.

I remember when he was brought in. I had a short peek at him, curled up and asleep in his cage with a nice blanket. The cages are draped with sheets.

awww what a cutie Jean and a happy ending to boot! Gotta love when that happens