Sea birds washed up in the south of England covered in 'wax like' substance

poor things, I hope they are saved

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-21275648

That is awful PPH and I hope many of the birds can be saved, It's odd that they don't really know what it is or where it has come from, but it sounds a bit as if something has been dumped into the sea that shouldnt have been. It also makes you wonder if it is affecting other sea creatures that cant be seen on top of the water. it must be awful for the birds and heres hoping that the rescue is a success and also that they find out what the substance is and trace where it has come from.

littlewid-x-

Ps, this has just been mentioned on the local news tonight.

Thats awful news, and it seems to be such a strange substance, with standard cleaning techniques not working. That could be because they are usualy based on oil cleaning using shampoos, and degreasing agents. One comment said the stuff was like PVA which is used as a glue, and waterproofer product so thats why they may be having ptoblems. I hope there are not to many more Birds out there suffering, and they can save as many as possible
WS

Latest News & Video

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-21275648

WS

Thanks for the link PPH - that sounds like someone has been dumping something they shouldn't have been at sea hoping they wouldn't get caught. So sad for all the birds and presumably marine life, as Chris Packham said 'the tip of the iceberg'.

I hope those birds rescued survive and that who ever did this is caught.

Lai

for that link WS, 123 birds is a lot to take care of. Couldn't believe all those 'cages' of birds and no sound at all from any of them I have heard of them using margarine for oil and it looks like it's helping some of the birds they are caring for. Long road ahead to help these poor things

Just heard on the news that they are estimating the number of affected birds to be in the thousands. They've identified the substance as a mineral base oil but they have sent up a plane to try and find an obvious slick with no success.

It does look like it was probably from a ship who emptied its tank illegally and either too lazy or didnt want to pay to empty it safely. They also said that sadly the people may not be caught and prosecuted

Saw this as well PPH. The numbers are devastating, and the fact that it looks like they cant trace the perpatrators on this distater is equaly devastating as well. It sends a signal to others that they can get away with washing their tanks out at sea as well
WS

RSPCA Update
Guillemots continue to be found coated in mystery substance

04.02.13

We've continued to rescue and care for hundreds of sea birds washed ashore covered in a mystery gluey substance described as ‘sticky Vaseline’.
Our inspectors have spent the past few days scouring the beaches along the south coast – mainly around Dorset - picking up birds contaminated with the unidentified goo.
A total of 276 birds have now been taken to RSPCA West Hatch wildlife centre in Taunton, Somerset to be cleaned and rehabilitated - 257 guillemots and 19 razorbills. Quite a few of the birds were found along beaches on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week (29 and 30 January) but most arrived on and since Thursday (31st).
Less than 40 of these have died, and these mainly from injuries to their legs and bodies by being bashed against the rocks as they were washed up on shore.
First attempts to clean the substance off the birds used soap, but these did not work. Later attempts used Stork margarine and were a lot more successful.

Manager of RSPCA West Hatch Peter Venn said:
It is still early days and hard to say how the birds will survive in the long-term but the margarine is proving to be a real life-saver.
When the birds came in covered in this goop we just didn’t know what we were dealing with. We didn’t know what the substance is or what it might be doing to the birds, but obviously we are doing all we possibly can to give them the best chance we can of survival.
The vast majority of the birds were found on beaches in Dorset - mainly Chesil Beach, near Portland but also a few from Weymouth. There were also a couple from the Isle of Wight and one from as far south as Cornwall.

Deputy Chief inspector John Pollock, who has been leading the rescue mission in Dorset, said:
The numbers of birds we have found has been quite overwhelming at times, and sadly quite a few of them have washed ashore already dead.
Our priority is to save the ones we can and get them to the wildlife centre where they can be cared for. We have been down on the beaches daily scouring the shores and trying to rescue them.

We would urge anyone who finds any of these birds to contact the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999.

WS

Thanks for the update WS.

Lai