Rescuers Work to Save Birds Fouled in Spill

Rescue workers Tuesday tried to save nearly 2,000 birds coated by three major oil slicks while the U.S. Coast Guard began taking samples from 23 ships in an effort to determine the source of the spills.

The three slicks--one spotted Saturday and the others on Sunday--coated murres, grebes and loons at scattered locations along nearly 200 miles of coast from San Luis Obispo County north to Bolinas, said biologist Jim Swanson of the California Department of Fish and Game. The most heavily damaged areas were at Muir and Rodeo beaches in Marin County, north of San Francisco.

Hundreds of volunteers washed and warmed the oil-coated birds at half a dozen rescue centers, and a seventh was being set up, Swanson said. He said 1,735 birds had been cleaned of oil by Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Coast Guard investigators in San Francisco, Long Beach, Seattle, Alaska and Hawaii were taking samples from oil-carrying vessels as they arrived in port for comparison with the spilled oil, said Petty Officer Kathleen Potter.

If investigators find the source of the spills and determine that they were deliberate, fines of up to $10,000 can be levied and the ship’s owner can be ordered to pay for the cleanup.