Rescuer Says Latest Oiled Sea Bird Event Points Out Shortcomings

BY REBECCA DMYTRYK

A recent incident of oiled birds off the Ventura coast being attributed to natural seepage was demobed after two days, despite the possibility that more birds were affected and the finding of a few birds along Malibu in the Point Dume and Zuma areas by volunteers with the local wildlife center. We’re talking just about the birds that were reported, as no one with keen eyes was on the lookout. Malibu Lagoon and Surfrider often have oiled grebes hauling out, but no one was sent to those areas to scout for them.
There’s an old wives’ tale that a bird’s feathers are coated with a protective oil which makes water bead. This is not the case. A bird’s feathers are like shingles on a house. They are structured just so and aligned in such a way to protect the bird from the elements. Any soiling, even a drop of oil, will compromise the feathers’ structure and allow wind and water to reach a bird’s skin.
The greatest threat to an oiled bird is not so much the oil as it is exposure. A bird’s normal temperature is close to 103 F. A bird covered in oil in a warm climate, like Ecuador, will survive longer after exposure than one on the coast of California. If we had a major oil spill in the Santa Monica Bay, we would find various species of oiled birds.
When it comes to natural seepage, where crude oil bubbles up from the depths, the most common species to be found oiled and stranded on Malibu beaches is the grebe—Western and Clark’s. One reason is that grebes float together offshore in “rafts,” in the hundreds, even thousands—just peppering the ocean.
One glob of errant oil will impact many at one time. Feeling the cold to their skin, the birds will start preening, some will stop eating, and they will head to shore. The biggest problem to them then is that there is absolutely no safe place for them to get out of the cold ocean. No beach that is free of dog or man.
Grebes are structured in such a way that they cannot walk on land. They are aquatic. Their hips are far back, and used to propel them through the water. The last place a grebe wants to be is on shore. Therefore, when we do find them beached, it is usually after they have nearly wasted away, waiting for the safest time and place to ground—often at night. That is why we push for “night ops” when we are working a spill. This is sometimes the most productive time to find and capture oiled birds.
If a person notices a beached grebe, they should first take care to prevent other people and dogs from frightening it back into the water. The next step would be to call for help—the California Wildlife Center with a marine rescue response team at 310-458-WILD.
If someone should take it upon themselves to attempt capturing a grebe, using a long-handled net, during the day, they would want to approach from the bird’s escape route—the water’s edge. To be successful they should move like a lioness on the hunt, slowly, stealthily, not moving a whisker, no colorful windbreaker flapping, making deliberate moves only as the bird bends its head to preen, closer and closer until the distance is so short, a bolting race will beat the bird to the water.
Nighttime is a heck of a lot easier! Should a person find themselves with a netted grebe, or one in hand, they would take great care to keep their body parts, especially their face, away from the bird. These birds have sharp, pointed bills that can easily take out an eye. And that is exactly what they aim for.
A simple bath towel thrown atop a bird will quiet it, but birds must not be wrapped in towels long as they will quickly overheat. Grebes, with their aquatic physiology, cannot lie on hard surfaces for long—even sand. They have a breastbone, or keel—like a ship. When grounded, the keel will begin to develop sores. This can complicate a bird’s rehabilitation. Should someone wish to temporarily confine a grebe they would pad a cardboard box with balled up newspaper covered with a towel. Since grebes cannot take flight from a standstill, a top is not required. A sheet will do, to protect it from seeing people. A ventilated trash can would work too.
In addition to protecting one from losing an eye to a grebe, care must be taken when coming into contact with petroleum oil, even if it is natural seep. Gloves are highly recommended but will only protect the skin. While weathering will have lessened its toxicity, aged natural seep may still give off the most toxic of its compounds, the hydrocarbons like benzene, which is a carcinogen and teratogen—causing cancer and birth defects.
While contact with a tar ball or the weathered gunk on a bird may not cause immediate harm unless one is allergic, prolonged or repeated exposure can be unhealthful. The same benzene is found in cigarette smoke. Should one become soiled with petroleum oil, mineral oil, a by-product of distilling crude oil for gasoline, can help clean it off of hands and equipment (I like to use the fragrant stuff they sell for babies). I finish off with a splash of regular isopropyl alcohol.
While The California Wildlife Center is the nearest rescue organization, and can temporarily house a grebe, the nearest facility to treat oiled birds is located in San Pedro. It is operated by International Bird Rescue Research Center. Its executive director, Jay Holcomb, is a pioneer of oiled wildlife recovery and rehabilitation, with over thirty years of experience, including the organizing wildlife response during the Exxon Valdez. One of the saddest things about last week’s grebe event was that OSPR— the Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR), called off the search after only two days—two days of two teams in Ventura County.
The reason there is no official rescue effort under way to help rescue the remaining oiled birds? Because the State does not help rescue birds that are injured by natural seep. That means it is up to us—the people. The same people who cared enough to enact the Lampert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act that called for better response and protection of wildlife injured by petroleum products resulting in the creation of OSPR in the first place.
And who bears the expense of these injured birds? International Bird Rescue Research Center. Each year, 75 to 100 birds oiled by natural seep survive to be admitted into one of two facilities and it is estimated that each bird, its care and feeding, costs an average of $200 each.
But things are on the mend. The Cosco Busan showed us that OSPR and its program—the Oiled Wildlife Care Network are in need of changes. New legislation is in the works and an audit of OSPR is rumored. There was too little equipment and too little manpower to respond to the hundreds of miles of shoreline and the thousands of birds impacted by the Cosco Busan. In response to the need to bolster manpower in preparation for coastal spills, International Bird Rescue Research Center is looking at teaming up with Malibu’s WildRescue in offering oiled wildlife recovery training to recruits.
Plans are in the works to offer these classes locally this summer. For more information or to contribute to the care of birds injured by natural seepage visit ibrrc. org and click on the donate button. Other interesting sites are: http:// www.coastalresearch center.ucsb.edu/scei/ oil.html, http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/reports/reprints/Kvenvolden_GML_23.pdf, http://www.nature.nps.gov/hazardssafety/toxic/pahs.pdf.