100+ seabirds pushed to shore following oil slick, volunteers spring into action

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY AND VENTURA COUNTY, Calif.—It’s a dire situation for the Western grebes.
 
“The oil on them is immediately debilitating them. They're getting cold. Once they're cold, they're stopping to eat,” said International Bird Rescue CEO JD Bergeron.

The long necked diving birds spend most of their lives on the water.
 
But an oil slick off the Santa Barbara and Ventura County coast is bringing them to shore.
 
Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network has been working closely with International Bird Rescue, who is actively rescuing and treating these birds.
 
“Getting 100 in the first three days is a really large number. They are colonial birds. What probably was happening is that they were sleeping in a raft. That is, they are floating together in a big group. And whatever oiling happened, they just passed right through the entire group while they were sleeping, which is why you see a whole bunch of them,” said Bergeron.
 
Bergeron says hundreds more birds could turn up because of the oil slick.
 
“Birds that are more oiled, the ones that have oil head to toe, they're just completely covered, will beach themselves faster and usually have more positive outcomes as opposed to a bird that maybe was on the prairie outer edge and got a little tiny bit,” said Bergeron.
 
If you come across a sea bird that’s struggling to fly contact Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network or the International Bird Rescue.
 
“We don't encourage everyone to pick them up. But there are folks who feel confident doing so with, of course, the reminder that oil is a poison. So you would really need a barrier,” said Bergeron.
 
The rescue says this mission could cost upwards of $200,000.
 
They’re relying on community donations since naturally occurring oil slicks do not qualify for federal or state funding.  
 
The exact cause of this oil slick is under investigation.