Volunteers search for more oiled seabirds in Ventura after toxic oil slick

VENTURA, Calif.—Liz Holbrook comes out to the Ventura beaches every day to find Western grebes that have been stranded by the shore.
 
She carries her binoculars hoping to catch a glimpse of them before the sun sets.
 
“It's horrible. It's sad. You can't even tell what kind of bird it is. The the greens are black and white and all they look like are black, just blackbirds,” said Holbrook, who is a volunteer with Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network.
 
She says she spent 12 hours searching for them the first day they received reports of oiled seabirds, and she’s figured out the ideal times to look for them.
 
“Low tide is when we hope that the Grebes have come up with the high tide. And then when the tides low, then we'll have more sand in between the bird and the ocean. Easier to rescue,” said Holbrook.
 
Every minute counts when it comes to helping birds harmed by the oil slick.
 
“Well, the grebes covered in oil, they can't regulate their temperature. So they're cold, they're wet, they're not waterproof. They can't swim and then they can't eat and they are picking out their feathers,” said Holbrook.
 
Once Holbrook secures them, they either go to the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network in Goleta or the International Bird Rescue in San Pedro.
 
“Transporting them is very stressful to the bird. So they need to be stable, meaning they need to be holding their temperature,” said Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network Executive Director Ariana Katovich.

The Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network says they’ve helped stabilize 52 western grebes.
 
A handful of them were from beaches in Santa Barbara, including Hendry’s Beach, East Beach, and the Santa Barbara Harbor.
 
The vast majority of them have been rescued from Ventura County.
  
If you see an oiled seabird reach out to Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network or International Bird Rescue.