BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill endangers birds throughout the Americas

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, April 30, 2010 (ENS) – Bird conservationists fear the spreading Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will affect not only local birds but migratory bird populations as far north as Canada and Alaska, and as far south as South America. The oil spill, now 100 miles long by 48 miles wide, is being pushed onshore by the prevailing southeast winds and is expected to hit the Louisiana’s Chandeleur Islands on Saturday. The state bird of Louisiana, the brown pelican, removed from the U.S. Endangered Species list only late last year, nests on the Louisiana coastal islands of Breton National Wildlife Refuge, which encompasses the Chandeleur Islands. Their breeding season just began and many pairs are already incubating eggs. “This spill spells disaster for birds in this region and beyond,” says George Fenwick, president of the nonprofit American Bird Conservancy. “The complexity of the Gulf coastline, with numerous bays, estuaries, inlets, marshes and creeks, will make cleanup extremely difficult. Impacts could last for decades for much of the habitat, and some species may suffer significant long-term population declines.” … The Gulf Coast is important for hundreds of species of migratory birds, which breed, winter, and rest here during migration. The second Sunday in May is celebrated as International Migratory Bird Day, but this year there will be nothing to celebrate. “It is ironic that next weekend is International Migratory Bird Day,” said Fenwick. “At a time when we should be celebrating the beauty and wonder of migratory birds, we could be mourning the worst environmental disaster in recent U.S. history.” All coastal nesting species – herons, terns, skimmers, plovers, gulls, rails and ducks – are now present on the Gulf coast, including several species on the U.S. WatchList of birds of conservation concern. North American summer songbirds fly nonstop across the Gulf of Mexico twice each year between their North American nesting grounds and wintering areas in Latin America. Most of the spring migrants, such as warblers, orioles, buntings, flycatchers and swallows, move across the gulf during a two-week period from late April to early May. …