International Bird Rescue

It’s day eight of IBRRC’s Gulf Oil Spill response and Executive Director Jay Holcomb, has his daily update:

Yesterday we had 5 capture teams in the field working with US Fish & Wildlife. They were able to make it as far east as Gossier Island, the Breton Islands and some of the Chandelier Islands. A few oiled gulls and pelicans were sighted but those birds had only spots of oil on their bellies. They were flighted and looked good. 

The teams did see oil at the shore of the Chandelier Islands and birds in the area. The rest of the team broke up and looked westward at the outer islands of the Pass-A-Loutre Wildlife Management Area and did not discover any oiled wildlife other than a few laughing gulls with small spots of oil on them.

Six teams are out again today looking in different areas for oiled birds.

We received one oiled green heron at Fort Jackson, LA center that had landed on a boat near the oiled area. The bird is in good health and has already been washed.

The other centers in Theodore, Alabama, Gulfport, Mississippi and Pensacola, Florida are still on alert and the staff is continuing to build cages and prepare for the potential impact of birds.

Here are the latest bird numbers:

Fort Jackson, Louisiana Oiled Bird Rehabilitation Center

3 live oiled birds 

• 1 brown pelican
• 1 northern gannet
• 1 green heron (came in yesterday)

3 dead oiled birds

• 2 northern gannets
• 1 magnificent frigatebird (came in yesterday)

Pensacola, Floria Oiled Bird Rehabilitation Center

1 live oiled bird 

• 1 northern gannet

Thanks for all your support,

– Jay Holcomb, IBRRC

International Bird Rescue is working with the main responder, Tri-State Bird Rescue of Delaware. IBRRC has 16 response team members on the ground including veterinarians, wildlife rehabilitation managers and facilities and capture specialists.

There are now four Oiled Bird Rescue Centers in Fort Jackson, Louisiana, Theodore, Alabama, Gulfport, Mississippi and Pensacola, Florida.

Accredited Media are welcome to visit the Fort Jackson, LA rescue center any day from 1 pm to 2 pm. It’s located at MSRC, 100 Herbert Harvey Drive, Buras, LA.

On day seven of our Gulf Oil Spill response, Jay Holcomb, IBRRC’s executive director checks in with an update:

On May 6th we did not receive any new oiled birds. We sent out four teams of search and collection people who searched the outer island reaches of the Mississippi delta area. The region is known as the Pass-A-Loutre Wildlife Management Refuge. The teams saw hundreds of clean brown pelicans, terns, cormorants, gulls and shorebirds and only one pelican with a spot of oil on its belly and one tern with a spot of oil on it. 

Today there are 5 capture teams made up of IBRRC/Tri-State people, plus government wildlife officials. We are pushing to look more to the east where the oil is coming to shore but we are under the direction of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and they call the shots. I will keep everyone informed as we receive other information and birds.

As many of you know, I have been put in charge of media here in Fort Jackson. I am fine with that but its a full time job. We have had press from all over the world and they have been great.

Yesterday we also filmed with Animal Planet’s Jeff Corwin who is doing some reporting on the Gulf Oil Spill

With that I will sign off. More tomorrow.

– Jay Holcomb, IBRRC

IBRRC now has 16 response team members on the ground including veterinarians, wildlife rehabilitation managers and facilities and capture specialists.

There are now four Oiled Bird Rescue Centers in Fort Jackson, Louisiana, Theodore, Alabama, Gulfport, Mississippi and Pensacola, Florida.

Accredited media and press are welcome to visit the Fort Jackson rescue center daily from 1 PM to 2 PM: MSRC, 100 Herbert Harvey Drive, Buras, Louisiana.

See map below:
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A major environmental threat looms for much of the wildlife along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico due to a recent oil rig disaster. Jeff Corwin from “The Animal Planet” reports from Biloxi, MS for the CBS Evening News.

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