Comments on: Louisiana report: Oiled mangroves and the birds within (slideshow)

By: Hugh

Hugh — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 21:30:50 +0000

Thanks for the response Drew. I didn’t get to go to Raccoon myself, but from experiences on places like the skimmer colony on the east tip of Bastian Island I know how hard it is to get close to some of these seabirds. (I’m not sure if you were suggesting we should have rescued birds ourselves, so just to be clear about the Cornell Lab’s role: we were never part of rescue or rehab operations because we don’t have expertise in that area.)

I bet you’re right – it would have been possible to capture some of those oiled but mobile birds given enough workers and time. But among those other issues you mention is the unknown fates of lightly oiled birds vs the unknown fates of chased, captured, transported, and released birds as well as the unknown prospects for pre-fledged birds released without parents to care for and train them. For example, many terns (Caspians are famous for it) have very long post-fledging dependency periods while the young learn how to fish. Anyway, I think your concern and questions are justified, and you’ve certainly proven your own dedication to the cause. But it comes down to very hard decisions being made by people at LDWF and FWS who also genuinely care about the seabirds they’re responsible for. As for me, I’ll make sure we continue to report on the science surrounding restoration, recovery and monitoring. Again, thanks for writing. Hugh

By: drew wheelan

drew wheelan — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 14:53:45 +0000

Thanks for a VERY well written post Hugh. While I agree with everything written about rescuing birds in colonies here, what is left out is that there are many other islands that differ structurally than “cat” island referred to here, and that LDWF and USFWS were actively rescuing birds on those islands until large numbers of Royal Terns and other species became oiled in early July. Those birds at the time were largely unflighted, and quite rescuable. As you can see from your very own photos of Raccoon island, making landfall did NOT disturb the colony, and perhaps from the USFWS’ own photos shown on the deepwater response website on the USFWS page explaining the NRDAR process, (can’t link to this site)which shows photos of Brown Pelicans and Royal Terns nesting during the spill response, both taken from the island in Breton National Wildlife Refuge. OK to land and take photos, but not to save birds?? Weird thought process, especially when MANY researchers routinely capture and study birds on these islands. Maybe there are other issues worth exploring?

By: Birds & The Guld Oil Spill « Towheeblog

Birds & The Guld Oil Spill « Towheeblog — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 23:54:43 +0000

[...] Here’s a link to the National Wildlife Federation’s Oil gusher page. The whole front page of the National Audubon Society is dominated by the oil mess. And there’s fresh stuff on the Cornell Ornithology Lab blog as well. [...]

By: Oil « Once There Were Lions

Oil « Once There Were Lions — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 00:27:00 +0000

[...] information, see this collection of photos and article from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology “Louisiana Report: Oiled Mangroves and the Birds Within,” by Hugh [...]

By: Hugh

Hugh — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 20:29:54 +0000

Thanks Brian! Good news is always welcome. – Hugh

By: I and the Bird #129: Five Years of Bird Blogging Brilliance

I and the Bird #129: Five Years of Bird Blogging Brilliance — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 06:46:24 +0000

[...] Speaking of the Gulf, Hugh of Cornell’s Round Robin blog has been visiting Louisiana shorebird colonies, both oiled and unoiled, and offering a bit of biological insight about what’s happening. [...]

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:18:34 +0000

With all the bad news about the oil spill I thought I would report some goods news.

While birding at Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge/Cape Canaveral Seashore near Titusville Florida on the Atlantic Coast side we saw 18 Reddish Egrets.This is the most we have EVER seen in this area.Reddish Egrets are a coastal species and will be affected by the oil spill.

Brian From St pete Florida…

By: Hugh

Hugh — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 11:48:23 +0000

Hi Bridget. As mentioned in the post, it’s very difficult to help these birds that are still mobile and associating with healthy, unoiled birds. Cornell is not rescuing birds—that’s not our area of expertise. We are documenting the situation and preparing for long-term study and recovery of the Gulf ecosystem—which we believe is the major concern in this whole tragedy. – Hugh

By: Hugh

Hugh — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 11:45:58 +0000

Thanks for your comment – I’ve added a few words from Michael Seymour, a state wildlife biologist, clarifying how difficult it is to rescue oiled birds in colonies without endangering healthy birds. The biologists definitely know about this colony already and are closely monitoring the situation. They don’t want to attempt a rescue if it will harm more birds than it will help.

By: Louisiana report: Hurricane weather (slideshow) « Round Robin

Louisiana report: Hurricane weather (slideshow) « Round Robin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:16:49 +0000

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