Oil-Soaked Birds, Tar Balls, Found Along WA, OR Coastlines

The WA and OR Departments of Fish and Wildlife along with the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) continue to investigate why a number of birds have been found in the last week on OR and WA beaches covered in oil.

    At least ten oil-soaked birds have been found

 According to sources, the birds were found by people along beaches between Long Beach, WA, and Lincoln City, OR.  2 of the birds were dead.

While investigating authorities also have gotten reports of smaller "tarballs," or clumps of oil that were seen floating in the water near Ilwaco and Seaview. The clumps can be from an oil spill of some kind, or can also naturally occur from seeping from the ocean floor or other sources. However, the number of tarballs has been enough to warrant and investigation.

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More investigating is being done using aerial viewing and searches for more birds. Authorities say if you're on the coast and encounter an obviously oil-covered bird, leave it alone. If not properly handled and cleaned oil can cause significant issues for birds. It can make them lose their waterproof protective coatings and lose their feathers.

If you find such a bird, call 1-800-22-BIRDS, which is an alert line for such incidents.