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Thread: Oiled Herring Gull at Sea

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    Default Oiled Herring Gull at Sea

    Back in the late 1980s to early 1990s, any New Jersey pelagic that had a number of Kittiwakes was bound to turn up a few birds with oil stains. Thankfully, that has become a real rarity. It seemed that Kittiwakes resided in places where dumped oil was not uncommon.

    On a pelagic I ran out of Delaware on Feb. 5, we unfortunately found an oiled Herring Gull. It's been a while since I've seen an oiled bird, and well over a decade since I've seen one this bad. It's obvious that the oil has been spread by the bird's preening. Hopefully this is a one-off event, but I know there has been concern since the BP disaster that oil would come up the Gulf Stream in quantity and harm birds off of our shores.

    Here is a photo of the birds side and dorsal. I'll follow up with an underwing detail shot.

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    Here's a detailed underwing shot. Notices how the bases of multiple feathers have been collapsed by the oil.

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    Thanks for sharing these amazing and important images Paul, makes you wonder how many others are out there that go unnoticed.

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    BPN Viewer Jeff Cashdollar's Avatar
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    Thanks Paul, agree with Jim on the wonder part of it all.

    What can we do to help - that is a question I pose to us all.

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