An oiled Frequent Murre rescued on Christmas Day is beginning the brand new 12 months on a hopeful notice – because of a swift rescue and professional care.
Rescued from Pillar Level Harbor in Half Moon Bay, CA, by Katia Bassett, the murre was stabilized in care with fluids and warmth earlier than present process a wash by our expert employees. Now on the trail to restoration, this hen is nicely on its solution to returning to the wild. With out intervention, its survival wouldn’t have been attainable.
A couple of days later, one other oiled Frequent Murre was rescued 50 miles northwest at Level Reyes Nationwide Seashore. A wildlife biologist responded to Drake’s Seashore to seize the hen and transport it to Hen Rescue, the place it has undergone the identical remedy.
Oil spills depart an enduring influence on coastal ecosystems, as seen alongside the San Mateo shoreline. In December 2015, Hen Rescue acquired 9 oiled birds contaminated with bunker oil from the S.S. Jacob Luckenbach, a cargo vessel that sank in 1953 about 17 miles west-southwest of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.
Moreover, migrating birds are at higher danger of passing via naturally occurring oil seeps throughout the fall and winter months. Pelagic birds like murres, loons, and grebes will seashore themselves to allow them to try and preen off the oil. It’s essential to acknowledge this habits as a transparent signal they need assistance.
To report oiled wildlife sightings, please name the Oiled Wildlife Care Community (OWCN) Response Hotline at (877) UCD-OWCN.
Saving Murres Amid Environmental Challenges
A latest examine in Alaska revealed that Frequent Murres have skilled the biggest recognized die-off of a single hen species. Roughly 4 million murres, roughly half of the state’s, perished from hunger due to an enormous two-year marine heatwave referred to as “the blob” in summer time 2015. This occasion raised ocean temperatures by as much as 7 levels Fahrenheit, severely depleting the fish shares important to the murres’ survival.
That very same 12 months, Hen Rescue handled 468 murres, a unprecedented quantity, all through the summer time and fall seasons. Most of them had been malnourished chicks.
Within the face of unprecedented challenges like local weather change and marine heatwaves, our devoted group works tirelessly to rehabilitate affected birds, giving them the very best likelihood of survival.
By symbolically adopting a murre in care, you’ll be able to assist us in offering the care they should guarantee their profitable return to the wild.
