Oil Spill Photo Gallery: Oiled Wildlife Center Cleans a Brown Pelican

I'm so glad to see that Audubon Magazine takes this disaster seriously enough to send its own staff to help. And I LOVE seeing the photo editor's take on the whole thing. She takes great photos, and her comments are personal enough to be real, and serious enough to convey what's going on.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for documenting this, and THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to the people who are donating their time to clean the animals. I am so deeply saddened by this disaster. It has profoundly affected me, so I makes me happy to see that we are able to save at least some wildlife.

Dear friends, is there any group that will accept volunteers to work with oiled birds? ARe there enough volunteers? What housing would be available or funds for volunteer who don't have resources for that? I don't find sites that help. I mean independant organizations separate from government and PB who are overseeing and helping?

I favor washing and allowing the birds to have a chance. If 100 birds are washed and allowed to have a chance to survive, maybe 99 die but one lies and has more offspring--hundreds can arise from that one saved bird. Also that bird may have some adaptive characteristic that makes them resist the kind of oil exposure the future has guaranteed them for the time being because of the current oil spill. So the species might survive.
At one time there were only 28 whooping cranes and with luck, with luck and much very good care, they are up to about 250. At one time there were 100 people who survived a super volcano, the theory is. And we have thrived out of control. Granted, it allows some weaknesses of inbreeding where variety is lost that protects a species.
I do favor washing and saving the birds because also biologists who then care for them may find better ways to help them survive these disasters.
It gives a little hope.
The greatest hope would have been to prevent, and will be to prevent, more oil drilling. But abandoning the effort must not happen because then BP and other companies get the message that that is not part of their cost. Unimaginable as it is, they care about getting oil out of the ground and sold; loss of a species or life along the coast will mean they won't have to be careful in the future. I'm not saying all the managers think like this but some quite surely do, and some workers quite surely do, and hate environmentalists, feel aggressive toward them, feel aggressively negative about environmental concerns. These are hard to believe facts. We have people who cut trees down so they have an extra parking space or shoot endangered birds for target practice. We have not won the PR war and we need to understand the point of view we are up against and think how to make a difference there also.
I don't know much about bird biology but these are thoughts. I would not abandon one I love in such a condition and I love these lovely lovely birds. And that would govern my thoughts most.

Once I assisted when an oil spill in The Netherlands affected seabirds. It was quite a reality check, out of one bird at least 10 buckets of oily water came. The bird was very stressed and they were given anti stress medication. It was along process to clean one bird, they were strong and big, gannets, gulls, auks. It was the mating season and even in their terrible condition the birds would make mating calls. I felt my heart breaking. Birds died, they were weakened by the toxins they swallowed. Some made it.
It shows how hard it is for humans to recover wildlife when we alter the ecosystem. I deeply wish that with technological progress we value as much research for what to do when technology fails. It is unacceptable that a leak like this cannot be stopped.

Also I feel there are a lot of people that want to help with their time and energy and it is wonderful when knowledgeable people can show them how.
The scale of the disaster of this gulf spill haunts me, maybe it is also a good idea to save eggs and incubate them, the nests will have no chance without their parents and food, I deeply pray that there will still be areas were animals can find refuge and that some of the marshes can be saved.
What we love we see and we have in common that we love nature, that we care. May that love also shows us the way to care for our broken hearts, so that we will not give up and will always stay present for the ones in need. Here in The Netherlands I just stood by a canal where 10 beautiful ducklings start their journey in this world.
Wetlands are cradles of life, it would be wonderful if you can coordinate rescue initiatives and bundle all the good will that is present. Stay strong, make known how unique these places are, that this is true wealth so the support for preservation grows in generations to come. love, Manon

Pelicans have been my passion since I was seven years old. I am actually experiencing some depression for the birds due to this horrible crisis. Could someone contact me and let me know if there is anyway I could get down there and help or if there is anything I can do? Thank you

We really need more positive action out there showing more is being done to save the marine and mammals affected from the spill. Did anyone watch on the news channel a couple of weeks ago members of what appeared to be the Coast Guard picking up LIVE sea turtles that appeared perfectly fine at the water's edge placing them into large black plastic bags and sealing them up to smother to death? What's wrong with this picture? Was it not cost effective to attempt to save these turtles?

I'm outraged to see that absolutely NOTHING was done for these endangered shy and majestic turtles. Tears pour down my face as my heart breaks in sympathy for all those lost in these most horrific of times.

Please give us information on the smaller species of birds coated in oil, gasping for air featured by Anderson Coope on 6/4 and then again by Gary Tuchman on 6/5 we are praying that they made it too!!