GALVESTON BAY OIL SPILL

The March 22nd collision of a bulk carrier and a barge which dumped up to 168,000 gallons of oil into the water continues to threaten birds and important bird habitat. This incident occurred just a few miles from the Bolivar Flats Shorebird Sanctuary.

As of today, the oil has not reached the Bolivar sanctuary shores, although birds in varying degrees of oiling continue to congregate there for safety.  Texas Parks and Wildlife, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Houston Audubon, Gulf Coast Bird Observatory, wildlife specialists are providing count data on oiled birds, and are on standby to engage in habitat, bird salvage and rescue actions.

Man helps a Royal Tern

Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) interactive map and related links on spill here:

http://tinyurl.com/HARCspill

  

Here's informative WHSRN news alert:

www.whsrn.org/alertsupdates/alert/20140326

And you can review some good Q&As from Houston Audubon here:

www.houstonaudubon.org/default.aspx/MenuItemID/353/MenuGroup/Reference.htm

As always, for more information about important bird areas across the U.S., check the National Audubon Society's website at:

www.audubon.org/bird/iba/