In the first week of October International Bird Rescue was activated to respond to an oil spill in New Zealand after the 775 ft (236 m) cargo ship, MV Rena, ran aground on a charted reef off the North Island port of Tauranga. Fuel oil leaking from the ship has caused New Zealand’s worst environmental disaster in decades and many oiled birds have been recovered, both dead and alive.

Continue reading

International Bird Rescue’s San Francisco Bay Wildlife Center is now reporting admitting more than 221 Brown Pelicans since June 1, most from the Monterey area. The wildlife rehabilitation and treatment center notes almost all have life-threatening fishing line and tackle injuries.

Continue reading

Hundreds of terns, most unable to fly, died in Long Beach Harbor last summer when their nesting area aboard two barges was disturbed.

Continue reading

April 2006– San Pedro, CA — Pelicans are falling victim of the same toxic bloom of ocean algae that’s sickening sea lions and also making shellfish unfit for human consumption, wildlife rescuers said Wednesday.
More than forty Brown Pelicans have been taken to the International Bird Rescue Research Center in San Pedro in the past week, 18 of those dead on arrival and the rest receiving treatment. Many more are dying in the wild, either at sea or on inaccessible jetties, center officials said.

Continue reading

IBRRC has great success rehabilitating birds rescued from beaches

Red phalaropes wearing their winter plumage swim in pools at IBRRC Cordelia IBRRC photo
January 5 – 2006 — Thousands of red phalaropes, rarely seen on land except when breeding in the Arctic, landed on the coast of Northern California in late December. Most were weak and starving, looking for food in marshes, creeks, and even backyards. The small birds were probably forced in by strong westerly winds that came with a series of powerful storms that hit Northern California the last part of December, 2005. Groups of up to 1,200 birds were reported seeking refuge along the coast.

Continue reading

Holidays like Fathers Day always present the “what to give Dad” gift dilemma.  The wildlife experts at International Bird Rescue Research Center are hoping kids will look beyond ties and toolboxes and log on to their website to adopt a live duck, heron, egret or pelican for dad.  Best part is he doesn’t have to care for it. 

Continue reading

(Pontevedra, Spain – December 10, 2002)
Jay Holcomb, Director of International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC) and the IFAW ER Team Leader, said, “This is what we have been waiting for since the first birds arrived. It is at last some good news in what has been a wildlife tragedy. Holcomb and members of IBRRC’s specially trained oil spill response team has been in Spain since November 16th. They are currently caring for over 300 live birds, with more arriving daily.
“It has been difficult to find a location where the birds could be released because the whole coast in this part of Spain is getting oil washed ashore. In consultation with all the Spanish experts we have chosen this area of Portugal because it already has good colonies of birds and it is not too far for us to transport them.”
About 40 birds will be loaded onto a truck at the center at 8am for a five-hour journey to Portugal where they will be released at Bahia de Setubal. It is necessary to take the birds so far away because the oil has affected the entire coastline of Galicia in northwest Spain.
The birds being released are razorbills, guillemots, puffins, loons, scoters and gulls, which are the first at the center to be successfully rehabilitated.
They are being released by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW www.ifaw.org) with the help of the local environment authority Xunta. The birds have been cared for at the main wildlife rehabilitation center for the crisis, which is being run in Pontevedra by IFAW’s Emergency Relief Team.
Since the start of the crisis three weeks ago hundreds of birds have arrived at the center covered in oil and suffering from hypothermia and dehydration. The IFAW ER Team first stabilizes the birds with fluids and food fed by tube, and once they are strong enough they are washed and dried, before being put into recovery pools to regain their waterproofing. The center is currently caring for 334 birds.
The IFAW ER Team in Pontevedra has vets and wildlife rehabilitation experts from eight countries around the world and about 50 local volunteers.
Daily reports from the field are located IFAW’s website at
More information about IBRRC and response team bios can be found at
www.ibrrc.org
Karen Benzel
PR/Media Relations
International Bird Rescue Research Center
831-622-7588 phone
www.ibrrc.org

PONTEVEDRA, Spain,
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW www.ifaw.org) and Xunta, the regional wildlife authority for north west Spain, have today opened a new rehabilitation centre to help save the wildlife that is suffering following the oil slick from the sunken tanker Prestige.
The temporary centre has already taken in its first 50 sea birds and by tomorrow another 100 are expected to arrive. The birds are being transferred from two other rehabilitation facilities that have acted as collection points.
“This new centre is vital if we are to save the birds that have already been rescued and those that are now coming ashore,” said Jay Holcomb, leader of IFAW’s Emergency Relief Team that is working at the oil spill. “Our other great concern is that there is a vast slick just off the coast at present and if that comes ashore we are going to have a large number of oiled birds needing to be rescued and rehabilitated.”
“It is critical that the birds are given the right treatment if they are to survive. Many are extremely weak and this new facility will provide their best chance of making it. They are suffering from hypothermia, and dehydration when they arrive. Our experienced rehabilitators, which include veterinarians, can now provide the care they need.”
The rehab centre has been established in a building provided by the forestry department in Pontevedra, close to the 100 km of coastline that has been affected by the spill. It includes a dedicated kitchen with freezers to prepare food for the birds, a stabilization room with holding pens where they are tubed with fluids, facilities for blood tests, a wash and rinse area, and recovery pools.
IFAW’s Holcomb added: “The birds are firstly stabilized by getting their temperatures back up to acceptable levels and by being tubed fluids. They are then fed fluids and food until blood tests, which check for infection and anemia, show they are strong enough to be washed. Next they need to recover their waterproofing and recondition in tanks prior to their being released back into the wild. This process depends on the state of each bird, but can take anything from several days to a few weeks.
“Finding somewhere to release the birds will be difficult with so much of this coast affected by the spill. We will take the advice of the local wildlife experts to determine where best to do this.”
Since the Prestige sank more than 160 birds have been rescued, including gannets, razorbills, cormorants, guillemot, kittiwake, and gulls. The seas around the coastal islands close to Pontevedra is a national maritime park and one of the country’s most important areas for migratory birds and other marine wildlife.
Karen Benzel
PR/Media Relations
International Bird Rescue Research Center
831-622-7588 phone
www.ibrrc.org

Dawn dishwashing liquid today (August 14th 2002) launched a national campaign, called Save-A-Duck, to involve Americans in the effort to rescue wildlife from the effects of oil spills. From today through to December 31st, consumers can help raise funds for two leading animal rescue groups when they purchase Dawn. Link to Story