SCRUB SCRUB SCRUB

Bird washers hard at work as Gulf spill toll grows
Anna Driver (w/Sarah Irwin, Ros Krasny and Paul Simao), June 5, 2010 (Reuters)

"…The number of birds brought to the Fort Jackson Bird Rehabilitation Center in Venice, Louisiana, where workers hired by BP wash the birds, has jumped…as a huge oil slick edges closer to vital nesting and breeding grounds.

"A total of 157 birds found in state waters have been treated at the center, where they receive a vigorous scrubbing, since the oil started leaking…But 66 birds, mostly brown pelicans, arrived [June 4 and 5], raising alarm bells. The brown pelican is Louisiana's state bird and only was taken off the endangered species list just last year amid attempts to restore its population…"

From GreenpeaceMagazine via YouTube

"The birds brought to the center are plucked from oil soaked waters that now ring Louisiana's fragile barrier islands and marshes. The feathers of oiled birds become matted and separate, leaving them vulnerable to heat or cold…They also try to preen, or clean their feathers with their beak or bill, risking a sickening or fatal ingestion of oil.

"The marshy areas around the rehabilitation center are so far untouched by the slick, and are teeming with birds. Snowy-white egrets peck at the ground or scan shallow waters for food, while gulls and terns fly overhead…But on [June 5], brisk winds pushed oil over some of the containment booms meant to keep the crude away from the coast, ringing a nearby brown pelican rookery and leaving the birds standing in a watery crude oil soup…"

click thru to the NY Times for the interactive map

"Once brought to the center, the birds are treated for dehydration and other conditions and fed before the difficult clean-up operation begins…Because the crude that clings to the pelicans' feathers is so sticky, they are first bathed in warmed vegetable oil…In the next step, workers armed with toothbrushes and dishwashing liquid scrub the birds for about 45 minutes. The brown pelicans, which have wingspans as wide as 8 feet (2.44 meters) typically struggle during the process...After the birds are dried and receive a health check, they are banded for identification purposes and flown to Florida by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service...

"The spill's toll on the Gulf coast bird population will not be known for some time...[S]ome rehabilitated birds may survive but might not breed again…According to the [June 5] report issued by the U.S. government…547 birds across the Gulf coast have been collected dead, but not all of those animals showed signs of contact with oil…But the government's numbers tell only part of the story…[because some birds sink into the water and are never counted]…"