The Nation : Crews Aid Birds After Barge Leaks Oil

A barge that lost about 70,000 gallons of oil off the southwestern Washington coast was towed into port after a leak was plugged, while volunteers cleaned up oil-coated birds left in its wake. “We have a number of crews out collecting birds along the beaches now,” said Ron Holcomb of the state Department of Ecology. He said more than 300 birds were brought in to be cleaned, while an additional 130 birds were found dead or could not be saved. Holcomb said oil came ashore along a 3-mile stretch of ocean beach on the jetty at the north entrance to Grays Harbor northward to Ocean Shores, after the barge was struck by a tugboat towing it. There were reports of oil-covered birds as far north as Moclips, 15 miles north of Ocean Shores. The birds were open-ocean birds, mostly common murres, and came ashore because they were stricken by the spill.