Be Their Voice

News from International Bird Rescue

The week in bird news, March 28

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galv-oil-spl_7160_13--chase_a._fountain
A victim of the Galveston Bay oil spill, photo by Chase A. Fountain, © Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

• Clean-up and wildlife rescue efforts continue following the collision of two barges on March 22 that caused an estimated 170,000 gallons to spill into Galveston Bay, Texas. The National Audubon Society in a statement reported that damage to bird habitats may be contained to the immediate area surrounding the spill. Only a relatively small number of oiled birds has been collected and transported to wildlife rehabilitators.

Here’s the latest we’ve seen from multiple news outlets:

• Houston Audubon: “It’s a terrible event. It sure could have been a lot worse.” [Los Angeles Times]

• Audubon has a comprehensive map of where beached oil has been spotted, as well as where designated important bird areas and breeding pairs of bird species are located based on 2013 census data. [Audubon]

• The long-term impact of the spill on Galveston Bay is unclear. [Al Jazeera America]

• 10 birds in local habitat that could be affected. [Buzzfeed Community]

• Wildlife responders care for oiled birds that have been captured. [CBS Houston]

• Houston shipping channel has reopened to traffic. [Dallas Morning News]

 

• All of this news comes on the heels of the 25th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez spill. Shortly after midnight on March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez struck BlighExxon_valdez_aground Reef in pristine Prince William Sound, Alaska, home to over 200 bird species. Twenty-five years later, three members of International Bird Rescue’s emergency response team look back on their experiences in this short film for IBR. [Vimeo]

• National Public Radio takes a look at how Exxon Valdez affected local fishermen. [NPR]

• Op-ed: In Prince William Sound, an ecosystem forever changed. [CNN]

• Op-ed: The plight of the pelican in California. [Los Angeles Times]

• US Fish & Wildlife adds the Prairie Chicken to the list of threatened species; backlash predictably ensues. [Fox News]

• Eradication of an invasive plant is paying off on Hawaii’s Midway Island, where albatrosses nesting on native grasses fare much better than nests on nonnative Verbesina. [West Hawaii News]

• The elusive Black Rail may adapt better than you’d think. [Bay Nature]

Tweets of the week: