not everything you learn is for a good reason

Unless you've been under a rock, you know about the Gulf oil spill. To monitor the ecological impact, I've been surfing beyond some of the usual news shows. For example, there are some people out there with some really neat satellites taking really startling pictures of our waters. There are also people out there with memory of the Exxon Valdez spill, and what had to be done to assist the wildlife.

If you haven't seen the kind of assistance the seabirds need, I direct you to a short piece submitted by the Boston Globe, with pictures from East Grand Terre Island in Louisiana. Let that sink in for a minute.

There. Now, I was under the impression that rescue and rehab for these birds was labor intensive because if you washed them with harsh soaps, you'd take the oils out of their feathers, which would eliminate their natural waterproofing. This is not actually the case. Birds do have an oil gland. They do spread this oil around by preening. This is only a conditioner, however. The insulation and waterproofing for a bird is in their amazing wing construction.

This image, courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle, shows a healthy and oil-soaked wing. The feathers of a healthy wing act like shingles on a house, overlapping. They have have a hook and barb construction, making a truly effective, flexible covering that insulates them from sun and cold and keeps them dry. The oil destroys that. And of course, the bird's first tendency is to remove the oil by cleaning itself. The oil it swallows can severely damage the internal organs.

Sad yet? What's the solution?

Well, reality time. It's a lot of work. The bird isn't just dirty. A quick shower doesn't fix it. Get this scenario, from the International Bird Rescue Research Center:

Initial procedures may involve cleaning the eyes, nasal and oral passages of oil and dirt, applying saline eye solution, giving oral fluids and activated charcoal solution, but not washing.
To wash a bird that is already highly stressed and not medically stable could mean death. Many oiled bird's die because well-meaning people, anxious to get oil off the bird, wash it immediately, resulting in death from stress. It is actually more important to give oiled birds the much needed nutrition, hydration and medical treatment they need before they are washed.
Once stable, oiled birds go through a series of tub washes alternating between baths with a one percent solution of Dawn dishwashing liquid and clean water. The wash time varies depending on the amount of oil, and the size of the bird, but on average it takes two people 45 minutes and 300 gallons of water to do a thorough washing.

A lot more complicated than you thought? Same here. Even after that, the birds have to be observed to make sure they are preening themselves again, and have recovered from the stress enough to be returned to the wild.

Before you ask, I am definitely sad that PEOPLE lost their lives in this tragedy. I don't forget them. It just doesn't make my concern and disgust over this any less. Personally, I want to go down to the local bird-cleaner recruitment office and head down to Louisiana or Pensacola, or later perhaps even Savannah or Charleston. And I would be one of those well-meaning people who make it worse. If you feel the same way, you might consider visiting this site, read the news from the experts rather than from the CEO of British Petroleum, and if you see their value, send them a little money. If you want to follow some of the work they're already doing, you can visit their flickr page. They're definitely going to be using lots of Dawn dishwashing liquid. And buckets of compassion as well.

-Laura