Oct 26, 2009 12:53 pm US/Pacific
'Slimed' Birds Flown To NorCal Rescue Center
FAIRFIELD (CBS13) ―
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Treated surf scoters recover their water-repellency in a holding pool Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2007, at the International Bird Rescue Research Center. Birds who were afflicted by the oil spill in San Francisco Bay last week are undergoing treatment at the center
AP
Hundreds of birds sicked by an unusual sea slime are being flown to Northern California from the Pacific Northwest in a massive rescue effort.
The sick birds are being flown by the Coast Guard from Oregon to the International Bird Rescue Research Center in Fairfield in a race to save their lives.
About 150 birds, including Loons, Scoters, and Murres, arrived at the center yesterday by van. Today, a Coast Guard HC 130 is picking up 200 to 300 more of the rescued birds after a wildlife rescue center in Oregon was overwhelmed by the number of birds coming in.
The birds are wet, cold and many are dying after being hit by the sea slime. The International Bird Rescue Center says a certain type of phytoplankton, usually found in warmer waters, was found in extraordinarily high numbers along the coast of Oregon and Washington. A storm then whipped up the phytoplankton into a soap-like slime.
The center hopes to save as many birds as possible by washing away the slime and rehabilitating the birds.
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