Spark Of Life

Millions Of Migrating Birds Headed Toward Gulf Oil Spill Mess

posted by: Beth Buczynski 1 day ago

Although the BP oil spill disaster is taking its toll on thousands of human Gulf Coast residents, it’s the non-human residents that are taking the brunt of the impact.

Images of oil-soaked brown pelicans, dead dolphins, and endangered sea turtles continually remind us that innocent wildlife will suffer the most severe consequences of the oil that continues to flow into the Gulf of Mexio an astounding 10+ weeks after the Deepwater Horizon exploded.

Thanks to the hard work of conservation scientists and volunteers from around the world, experts say the toll on sea birds from BP’s Gulf Coast oil spill is smaller than was anticipated. At least for now.

Scientists predict that shifting weather and sea conditions will soon create a dangerous situation in which sea birds, simply following their instinctual behavior patterns, will fly right into the deadly oil spill mess.

In the coming weeks, millions of waterfowl and other birds that flock to the Gulf Coast on their annual fall migration will arrive in the region either to roost for the winter or to make brief stopovers en route farther south.

With toxic crude still gushing from the floor of the Gulf of Mexico and streaks of the slick creeping inexorably farther inland, many more birds and other wildlife that nest, feed and find shelter on shore are likely to become casualties. (MSNBC).

Officials are scrambling to prevent thousands of avian fatalities from adding to the environmental devastation in the Gulf. So far wildlife experts are working to minimze risk by using containment boomts to cordon off rookeries, asking local farmers to flood their fields so they can be used as temporary bird-friendly wetlands, and issuing new duck hunting restrictions.

Jay Holcomb, head of the International Bird Rescue Research Center told MSNBC that authorities may even be forced to capture baby pelicans to move them out of harm’s way. A similar evacuation procedure is already underway to save endangered sea turtle eggs.

http://www.care2.com/causes/environment/blog/migrating-birds-headed-for-gulf-oil-spill-mess/

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/in-about-face-calgary-herald-accepts-anti-stampede-ad/article1627990/

By Mary Rickard

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Environmental groups, BP and the U.S. Coast Guard reached tentative agreement on Friday on measures to prevent sea turtles from being incinerated alive in controlled burns of spilled oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

The deal would settle a lawsuit accusing BP of violating the U.S. Endangered Species Act and terms of its lease with the federal government for the deep-sea well that ruptured on April 20, unleashing the worst offshore spill in U.S. history.

Among the creatures most at risk from the incineration of oil at sea are the endangered Kemp’s ridley turtle, the smallest known sea turtles in the world and among the rarest.

The four conservation groups bringing the suit amended the complaint on Thursday to add the Coast Guard as a defendant.

Under the accord reached in talks on Thursday evening and Friday morning, the parties agreed to a plan allowing biologists or other trained wildlife observers to accompany oil-incineration vessels at sea to remove as many turtles as possible from designated areas before burning starts.

Private boat captains chartered for wildlife rescue missions in the Gulf said in affidavits filed with the lawsuit that young sea turtles tend to congregate among oil blobs floating in the water, apparently unable to distinguish between the oil and mats of seaweed that provide natural shelter on the surface of the Gulf.

The turtles are then presumably swept up and unable to escape when shrimp boats contracted for cleanup operations are used to drag fire-resistant booms to encircle the floating oil before it is set ablaze.

The interim agreement was presented in federal court in New Orleans on Friday to U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, who is presiding over the case, and the plaintiffs suspended their request for an immediate court order to bar future oil burns.

“The parties have agreed between now and next week on implementing an additional measures to ensure any endangered species are protected,” Barbier said. “We are not going to litigate today.”

Precise details of the plan for safeguarding turtles will be worked out on an “expedited basis” between the Coast Guard and a group of scientists, with input from the plaintiffs, said Todd Steiner, head of the Turtle Island Restoration Network.

He said the agreed-upon procedures will be announced “on a very fast track for public comment so that it can be finalized as soon as possible.”

CONTROLLED BURNS REMAIN ON HOLD

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=deal-struck-to-save-turtl

Photo comes from AP on June 16. However any and all traces of it have since been removed. It is possible this is one of the few copies of this left. SHARE IT and lets make sure the truth is known.

It clearly shows burned flesh on the left side of the body. This whale was burned either alive or after it died to hide the evidence.

These various articles used to have this photo attached with it but now they do not. Hmmm I wonder why …

[link to www.nytimes.com]

[link to www.noaanews.noaa.gov]

[link to www.nola.com]