[How They're Handled And Cared For By The Experts by Jack Chielli Oil spills are not foreign to the Jersey shore. In the winter of 1976, an oil tanker spilled hundreds of gallons; subsequently many birds became covered with oil. Many well intehtioned citizens showed up on the beaches to help clean the oil-coated birds. To the eventual disappointment about 98 percent of the birds died. The cause of death was intestinal absorption of oil, as the birds attempted to preen their feathers — and also the insufficient techniques used by volunteers. An organisation called Tri-State Bird Restiie (TSBR) began operation / after the Olympic Games oil spill in the Delaware River that year. Their goal was to collect data on the oil-covered birds and refine the treatment for saving them. Since it’s founding TSBR hjis received national and now even world wide recognition because of the amazing percentage of birds they are able to release back into the wild. Whereas 98 percent of the birds had died, today 76 percent are released back into the wild. "WHEN WE STARTED we didn't believe that we would save a great many birds,” Lynne Frink, director of TSBR said recently during a lecture at the Wetlands Institute. “The thing people have to realize is that if any one aspect of the treatment is ignored or incorrectly performed, the bird will die.” This rule applies to every part of the rehabilitation process — proper handling and- transport tion of the birds...use of the cc reel detergent and wate temperature for cleaning them...correct proportions of

food.

“Any mistake negates the effects that proceed it,” Frink emphasizes." TSBR assembled a group of experts from the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School,

/ BASIC IIOI.DS used when drilling wi*h birds are drmonslralfd b> Lynne Frink, usinp a live least tern as a model. At left is the Hnd> Mold, used to immnbolize the beak and wtaRs Urjirevent the bird from thrashing and using its beak as a wea'pdn. At right is the

"The thing people have to realize is that if any one aspect of the treatment is ignored or incorrectly performed, the bird will die

Delaware SPCA, Philadelphia Zoological Dept., U S. Fish and Wildlife Services, and the Audubon Society. Together they began to collect data on oilcovered birds. “WHAT WE DID was to gather statistics on the treatment of the birds after an oil spill. That was the only way to begin, since there was no incentive to do this type of research in veterinary schools,” Frink explained. As soon as TSBR had sufficient information, they began training volunteers for a 24-hour-day, every day rescue watch. -TSBR has now trained 1,500 people from Maitie to Virginia. In a soft compassionate tone, Frink explained avian psychology: “For a bird, man is a natural predator. The only reason a man wants to pick up a bird is to eat it, that’s what the bird thinks. People pick them up and cuddle them like pets. Sometimes the stress will kill them.” When a bird’s feathers become matted, they cannot fly or swim. They also lose the ability to retain their body heat. "It's like when your down vest gets wet, it loses all capability for retaining'heat"," Frink noted. IF AN OIL SPILL happens in the wintertime, the bird freezes to death. "Sometimes they drown or $re eaten by natural predators. Of Course, whatever eats them becomes Oil contaminated also,"

she said.

But the most common cause of death in oiled birds is chronic and cute petroleum toxicity. Ithough stress from handling bi^ds cannot be adequately evaluated, it is thought to be minimal compared to the toxic pathology found in all oiled birds. TSBR trains its volunteers to be comfortable handling birds. Displaying the scar on her face incurred while handling a seaful I, Frink assured her listeners "The beaks of seagulls and other birds " are very sharp. You can never be

too careful.”

The first and most important hold for a volunteer to learn is the body hold. -This Smmobilizes the head and wings of the bird and keeps the bird fronLdoing further damage to itself. The basic hold is also good because if minimizes the amount of stress fbr the bird. ANOTHER IMPORTANT HOLD is the wing hold, uied to spread the wing so that it may be cleaned and examined: “We hold the wings out so that we can be in control of them. Very often a bird breaks its wing while being held. They thrash about and since they have hollow bones which are very

Tri-State Bird Rescue may be reached thru Del. Audubon Society. Phone (302) 762-4910

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brittle they break easily. Once a bird’s wing is broken it is very dif 'ficult to repairY' Once the volunteers have become acquainted with these and other techniques, they are ready to rescue oiled or otherwise^ injured birds. The most important first aid aspect in a bird rescue is to retrieve the creature as quickljt as possible. TSBR usually gets a call from the Coast Guard or the industry responsible for the spill in a matter of hours. “We get to the area as quickly as possible and wrap the birds in burlap ponchos. This keeps them from ingesting the oil,’’ Frink said. “Then we band the birds, so that we will be able to keep accurate medical data on them. We would not be able to learn from our experience if we did not keep records.” RESCUE TEAMS BRING the

WHik Hold, uhich must hr rvdt tMi'd with hn-iil fun* sin, i/lho hollow bonus of Ihi* wing ;iTr Easily broken if Ihe bird begins lo thrush about in his position. The pirutre taking session ended when the tern heeanie overly excited and began trashing.

birds back to the cleaning facility, already set up and prepared to operate There workers begin bv using col[on swabs to remove all the oil from the eyes and nose of the birds. Then the birds are washed in water that is 103” using a one t,o eight solution of Lux Liquid Amber detergent. This is followed by extensive rinsining in tubs under hoses, each bird requiring up to 40 gallons of water The next procedure is to dry them, which must be done slowly because the faster it is dried the easier it is for the bird to gel chill-

ed

When the birds are completely dry they are placed in a pen. ideally 4 x 4 ft with a sloped floor pool and a continous overflow drainage The pool stimulates Ihe birds to preen which is necessary for the realignment and natural oiling of feathers Recovering aquatic birds are fed a.diet of fnjsh fish and worms, mbist and dried food She cautioned people not lo feed any injured birds bread for at least three days or more: “There is nothing similiar to bread in their environ ment. what they need arc seeds, protein and fruit " Remarkable, sometimespn just 72 hours oiled birds may be released back into the wild if they afe judged capable of feeding, swimming and preening. Some pre monitored by field workers for two weeks after release. Lynne Frank also dispelled some common fallacies about ’birds, among them: “If you find a baby bird out of its nest you should pick it up and replace it in the nesKThe mother bird will not reject it pecause of any human oder. There are only two species of birds in the world that can smell and neither of these are found in the United States.’’

Jack J. Chielli of Avalon is a frequent contributor to Cape May County Magazine.