North Carolina 2, California 0

While we have already blogged about this, I could not let this week go by without acknowledging that on Wednesday, California oil spill response lost out to North Carolina.  Greg and Wendy Massey, both very experienced oil spill responders, moved to Greg’s home state, North Carolina, to help out with family matters.  We already miss them here.

On top of this, January Bill is moving up to the Humboldt area.  We are glad that she will continue to work with us on oil spills but we also miss her smiling face here at the office.

I have posted their pictures to keep reminding us of the good people we get to work with.

Have a good weekend.

- Nils

Huntington Beach Canal Spill – Winding down

Sunday evening and the Recovery and Transportation team from the weekend gets a well deserved break.  We had a team out on Saturday and Sunday from Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center and the International Bird Rescue and Research Center.

Over the weekend, a number of dead birds were found but none of them had any obvious signs of oil.  This is not surprising since winter storms typically lead to peaks in dead seabirds being found on the beaches.  This coupled with the lack of new live, oiled birds has prompted OSPR and the OWCN to place R&T efforts on standby.  Over the next days, OSPR folks will continue looking for oiled birds and if recoverable, live oiled birds are seen, we will have R&T personnel go back out.

In the next few days, I will try to get a summary of the spill out.  In the meantime, I want to especially thank the staff of Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center as well as the International Bird Rescue and Research Center for their great efforts.  All spills, large and small, are tiring to work at, and these people did a great job, as did OSPR personnel and other responders.

- Nils

Huntington Beach Canal Spill Day 7

A week of responding has gone by and today we had our highest total of dead birds brought in.  The R&T crew thinks this is due to the very high tides that we have had.

In total, Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center staff found brought in no live animals but eight dead birds.  This included three Brown Pelicans, two Lesser Scaup, a Pied billed Grebe, a Bufflehead, and an American Coot.

Clean-up crews have been making progress.

We will have a team out tomorrow.

Stay tuned for updates.

- Nils

Huntington Beach Canal Spill – Day 6

It looks like the EPA and OSPR  found the source of oil in the channel  and are working on closing that off.

Since no new oil is being seen, hazing will be closed down tomorrow but Recovery and Transportation efforts  will continue since there are still some oiled, live birds being seen.

Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center staff found one dead, oiled Bufflehead today and no live animals.

We will have a team out tomorrow but hopefully things are winding down.

Stay tuned for updates.

- Nils

Huntington Beach Canal Spill Day 5

With all of the rain that southern California has received, the road along the channel is slippery and at least one part of the road has caved in.

However, Debbie and Lisa from the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center, along with OSPR personnel, continued to search for oiled wildlife.  For the first time in days, no dead or alive oiled wildlife was brought in to the facility.

We will have people out looking tomorrow since we know that there are still small numbers of oiled birds being observed in the vicinity of the spill.

Stay tuned for updates.

- Nils

Another Goodbye

From January:

“Dear OWCN Members-

I wanted to take a moment to let you know that I am leaving my position at the Wildlife Health Center as OWCN staff to move to Humboldt County where I will continue to pursue my career in wildlife rehabilitation and biology.

I have enjoyed my time here and I appreciate having had the opportunity to work with many of you during oil spill responses and trainings. The dedication and passion that I have seen during oiled wildlife responses from both volunteers and staff of each organization is heartwarming. The network would not be successful without it.

I will be remaining on the UCD member organization spill response team to help out when needed during future CA oiled wildlife responses.

Thanks for everything.”

We at the OWCN are saddened to lose January’s knowledge, enthusiasm and drive for giving wildlife the best care possible, but are gratified that she is willing to help out should there be a spill.  We wish her the best in wherever life’s adventures take her.

At this point, we will not be rehiring her position until Greg’s replacement has been here for awhile so that the new Response Vet can get a sense for what he/she would like from the Spill Technician position.  However, the important roles that both January and Greg played for animal care readiness, training and response are not being dropped – far from it.  The core OWCN staff here at UCD are busily getting ready for the remainder of the Webinar series, planning for Oilapoalooza ‘10, and other activities to ensure we are as prepared as possible should a spill hit.

- Mike

Care & Processing Update

As of yesterday afternoon, all but one of the six live birds that have been collected had been washed. One bird that was transported at the end of the day after being stabilized at the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center is still receiving care and not yet stable. I’ve attached a picture of a coot being cleaned at the LA Oiled Bird Care and Education Center yesterday. Thanks to Erica Lander (IBRRC) for the photo.

-Greg

A coot oiled by the Huntington Beach Canal Spill is cleaned (Erica Lander)

Huntington Beach Canal Spill Day 4

Today, with OSPR staff, Debbie and Lisa from the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center searched for live and dead oiled wildlife.  Lisa provided photographs of the spill area so you can see the challenge that they face.

Early in the morning they found a dead, oiled raccoon in the water that either fell in the channel and got oiled or got oiled in other ways.  They spent part of the day with OSPR folks down in the channel in a boat trying to catch a live, oiled American Coot but the water is shallow, there is a lot of boom out, and the bird can still fly.  A bird hazing crew has been busy trying to keep birds and other wildlife out of the oil-affected areas.

So far today, four heavily oiled, dead birds have been located and brought in.

Strategies for tomorrow are still being planned out.

- Nils

Huntington Beach Canal Spill Day 3: Update

Clean up efforts at the Huntington Beach Canal spill continue today as do the efforts by our Recovery and Transportation crews.  Today we had three people out trying to capture oiled wildlife, Debbie and Lisa from the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center and Paul from International Bird Rescue and Research Center.

Today, the crew managed to capture one live oiled Bufflehead (a beautiful, small, diving duck, see picture) and recover one dead oiled Bufflehead.  Our tentative totals are now 6 live birds and 5 dead.

Capture conditions are quite difficult since much of the oiled water is in a steep, metal sided canal where one needs 40 hr HAZWOPER training to enter; also, there is a lot of clean-up activity going on and many feet of boom have been put out to contain the oil.

Rain is expected tonight and tomorrow so we will see how that affects efforts, but a team will be out searching for oiled wildlife.

- Nils

Huntington Beach Canal Spill Day 2: Care & Processing Update

The live bird collected yesterday was a pied billed grebe. The dead birds have not yet been processed. The live bird was stabilized at the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center (WWCC) before being transferred late yesterday afternoon to the Los Angeles Oiled Bird Care and Education Center (LAOBCEC) where it is under the care of staff from the International Bird Rescue and Research Center. Preliminary tests conducted this morning showed the bird was stable enough to be cleaned this afternoon. This was successful and the bird is now resting quietly.

Current field conditions have made rescuing affected birds both difficult and potentially dangerous. Despite these challenges, a small number of oiled birds were captured today, stabilized at the WWCC and transferred to the LAOBCEC. More details will be available tomorrow after these birds have been processed and examined.

-Greg