Audio Slideshow: Gulf Coast Oil Spill, Chandeleur Islands

Frank Willis is a forensic engineer by trade, a zoologist by degree and an ecologist by hobby. Willis has visited the Chandeleur Islands twice since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and began releasing oil into the ocean on April 20, 2010. Willis is stationed in Louisiana for work, so he chartered a plane and flew to the islands to see for himself what was in store for the habitat and wildlife.

Growing up in rural Louisiana with a naturalist father, Willis would eventually attend LSU where he focused on animal studies and soon became an avid birdwatcher. 

May 4 marked his first visit to the Chandeleurs followed by a second less than a week later. At that point, the oil had not reached shore, but had begun to surround the island chain.