{"id":41623,"date":"2025-11-07T00:08:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T00:08:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/41623\/"},"modified":"2025-11-07T00:08:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T00:08:17","slug":"oiled-birds-receiving-treatment-at-la-bird-rescue-center-in-san-pedro-daily-breeze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/41623\/","title":{"rendered":"Oiled birds receiving treatment at LA Bird Rescue center in San Pedro \u2013 Daily Breeze"},"content":{"rendered":"

An oil slick off the coast of Santa Barbara and Ventura has brought 96 oiled Western grebes to the International Bird Rescue center in San Pedro for treatment.<\/p>\n

Bird Rescue officials outlined the situation on Thursday, Nov. 6, during a media briefing at its center in San Pedro\u2019s Angels Gate Park.<\/p>\n

The influx of oiled seabirds began arriving after the discovery of an approximately 1 square-mile oil slick off the Santa Barbara coast. Since Monday, Nov. 3, Western grebes \u2014 long-necked diving birds that spend most of their lives on the water \u2014 \u00a0have been receiving critical care, with their initial stabilization taking place at the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network.<\/p>\n

After that, they were transferred to Bird Rescue\u2019s Southern California Wildlife Center in San Pedro.<\/p>\n

Additional birds could still arrive.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A recently washed western grebe begins waterproofing at the International Bird Rescue in San Pedro on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Recently<\/p>\n

Recently washed western grebes begin waterproofing at the International Bird Rescue in San Pedro on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"One<\/p>\n

One of 96 oiled western grebes is cleaned at the International Bird Rescue in San Pedro on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Recently<\/p>\n

Recently washed western grebes begin waterproofing at the International Bird Rescue in San Pedro on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"From<\/p>\n

From left, Volunteer Donna Minamide and Senior Wildlife Rehabilitation Technician Jennifer Martines wash an oiled western grebe at the International Bird Rescue in San Pedro on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

An oiled western grebe is stabilized in the intake room at the International Bird Rescue in San Pedro on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"From<\/p>\n

From left, Volunteer Donna Minamide and Senior Wildlife Rehabilitation Technician Jennifer Martines wash an oiled western grebe at the International Bird Rescue in San Pedro on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"From<\/p>\n

From right, Volunteer Donna Minamide and Senior Wildlife Rehabilitation Technician Jennifer Martines prepare to wash an oiled western grebe at the International Bird Rescue in San Pedro on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"From<\/p>\n

From left, Volunteer Donna Minamide and Senior Wildlife Rehabilitation Technician Jennifer Martines wash an oiled western grebe at the International Bird Rescue in San Pedro on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"JD<\/p>\n

JD Bergeron speaks during a press conference addressing the ongoing care and status of 96 oiled western grebes at the International Bird Rescue in San Pedro on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 10<\/p>\n

A recently washed western grebe begins waterproofing at the International Bird Rescue in San Pedro on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

The U.S. Coast Guard, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and California Department of Fish and Wildlife\u2019s Office of Spill Prevention and Response are investigating the source of the oil. Current information suggests the slick may be related to seep activity, a natural leak of crude oil and gas that migrates up through the seafloor and ocean depths during storms. Laboratory confirmation is pending.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn oil seep of this magnitude can harm thousands of birds,\u201d the center\u2019s CEO, JD Bergeron, said in a written comment. \u201cThis is exactly the kind of situation where immediate, skilled care makes the difference between life and death for these birds. But we cannot do it alone \u2013 we urgently need the public\u2019s support.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bird Rescue, a nonprofit that has been in operation for 55 years, is issuing an urgent call for public support as it responds to this incident, needing help covering all costs required to treat impacted wildlife. Donations can be made at birdrescue.org\/donate-oiled-birds-2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Western grebes do not typically come ashore, rescue officials said, so if they are seen on a beach, they probably need immediate assistance. The birds can be recognized by their long-necks, with black on top and white underneath. They have bright red eyes and olive-yellow, pointed bills. If the bird\u2019s feathers are patchy, clumped or \u201cdirty-looking,\u201d the bird may be oiled, wildlife officials said.<\/p>\n

The center responds to an array of bird emergencies, including oil spills that impact wildlife.<\/p>\n

Oiled birds that come into care are first stabilized with heat, nutrition and fluids.<\/p>\n

The birds are then washed by trained staff and volunteers with warm water and Dawn dish soap, a proven cleaning agent gentle and safe enough on birds but strong enough to remove harmful debris. Birds recover in care, regaining their strength and waterproofing, and any secondary injuries until they can be released back to the wild.<\/p>\n

Bird Rescue has responded to similar incidents in 2013, when 77 oiled common murres affected by natural seep came into the Los Angeles center and again in 2019, bringing in more than 150 oiled seabirds. In 2015, a \u201cmystery goo\u201d in the San Francisco Bay affected more than 300 birds \u2014 costing the organization more than $230,000.<\/p>\n

Bird Rescue is often called upon to respond to seabirds in crisis before the cause of the incident has been determined. In a rapidly changing environment, the birds face numerous challenges.<\/p>\n

Data collected during rehabilitation contributes to broader research efforts, while the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Los Angeles County Department of Veterinary Public Health continue investigating the factors contributing to birds being brought into the center.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An oil slick off the coast of Santa Barbara and Ventura has brought 96 oiled Western grebes to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41624,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[2113,7,3172,131,133,132,47,137,100,1439,1226],"class_list":{"0":"post-41623","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-long-beach","8":"tag-animals","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-harbor-area","11":"tag-long-beach","12":"tag-long-beach-headlines","13":"tag-long-beach-news","14":"tag-los-angeles","15":"tag-los-angeles-county","16":"tag-news","17":"tag-san-pedro","18":"tag-ventura-county"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}