5 Birds Dead in Oil Spill; 9 Recovering

At least five birds have died and nine more are recovering after ingesting oil that made its way into Upper Newport Bay.

No endangered species were among birds affected by the spill, but state Department of Fish and Game officials said it was a close call.

“This is an endangered species habitat, and some clapper rail and brown pelican habitat was affected,” said Jonna Mazet, wildlife veterinarian for Fish and Game.

Though most of the oil had been removed by late Thursday, officials will monitor bird life in the bay for the next few weeks to make sure no ailing birds were overlooked.

Mazet said it is possible that sick birds hidden in vegetation have not yet been spotted by rescuers.

“This was a very small amount of oil, which just goes to show what it can do when it hits a very sensitive habitat,” Mazet said. “Oil causes very serious problems.”

Officials said the oil slick was the result of “midnight dumping” of about 100 gallons of motor oil into a storm drain upstream from the ecological reserve.

Investigators suspect that the dumping occurred behind a strip shopping center in the 300 block of South Bristol Street, where they found three 55-gallon drums Monday. As of late Thursday, no suspects had been identified.

The investigation is continuing, officials said, appealing to anyone with information about the incident to contact the Department of Fish and Game at (800) 952-5400.