Effective today, the Cornell Lab has opened access to comprehensive life-history information on 15 bird species threatened by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Our intent is to help anyone who’s looking for information about birds in harm’s way; who needs specific answers to questions about life history, population or conservation status, migration schedules, feeding or nesting behavior, etc.; and people who need a quick, comprehensive introduction to the scientific literature about a species.
The open-access accounts are for the 10 species featured in the eBird Gulf Coast Oil Spill Tracker and five additional species:
- Brown Pelican
- Wilson’s Plover
- Clapper Rail
- Royal Tern
- Reddish Egret
- American Oystercatcher
- Roseate Spoonbill
- Snowy Plover
- Seaside Sparrow
- Red Knot
- Tricolored Heron
- Snowy Egret
- White Ibis
- Sandwich Tern
- Sanderling
Note: this is not a comprehensive list of species placed in harm’s way by the oil spill. More information on threats to shorebird species is available from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The information comes from our Birds of North America Online series—a set of accounts that summarize the state of scientific knowledge for every species of bird in the U.S. and Canada. The accounts are normally available on a subscription basis ($42 per year or $5 per month for the entire set). We’ll keep these accounts open until the danger from the oil spill has passed.
(Image: Roseate Spoonbill photographed in Texas by David Cree, via Birdshare)
VOLUNTEER NEWS: Mississippi Audubon to host volunteer bird monitoring training Mon., June 7, at Moss Point
MORE: News and resources are being compiled here; More oil spill posts
2 Comments
So sad. I thought I saw a photo of some kind of plover or sandpiper coated with oil in a newspaper. Very upsetting.
I think it was a red knot I saw.
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