IMPACTS ON WATERBIRDS FROM THE 1984 AND , , OIL SPILLS

STEVEN M. SPEICH, 4817 Sucia Drive, Ferndale, Washington98248 STEVEN P. THOMPSON, Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, 100 Brown Farm Road, Olympia, Washington98506 (presentaddress: Stillwater Wildlife Management Area, P.O. Box 1236, Fallon, Nevada 89406)

Two major oil pollutionevents in Washingtonin 1984 resultedin signifi- cant oiling of waterbirds.The first occurred 19 March 1984 when a tanker ran agroundnear St. Helens, Oregon, releasingoil into the ColumbiaRiver. The second occurred 21 December 1984 when a vessel released oil into southernAdmiralty Inlet off the south end of Whidbey Island in , Washington.During both spillsmany waterbirdswere found dead, and many others were found incapacitated.This paper documentsthe speciesof waterbirdsoiled in eachevent. Althoughsome impacts of oil spills on waterbirds on the Pacific Coast of North America have been documented (Aldrich 1938, Moffitt and Orr 1938, Richardson1956, Small et al. 1972, Vermeer and Vermeer 1975, PRBO 1985), many othersare undocumented and doubtlesswill remainso (Vermeerand Vermeer 1975, Speichunpubl. data).

THE OIL SPILLS

The Columbia River Spill The tanker b,'l'obiloilran aground in the Columbia River near St. Helens, Oregon, on WarriorRock (rivermile 88.2) on 19 March 1984 (Figure1). Its tanksruptured, releasing an estimated170,000 to 233,000 gallonsof heavy residual oil, number six fuel oil, and an industrialfuel oil into the river (Ken- nedy and Baca 1984). A portion of the releasedoil sank but the rest floated downstream,reaching the mouth of the ColumbiaRiver 21 March 1984. It was then carried north by ocean currents, reaching Ocean Shores, Washington, by 25 March 1984. Oil was deposited on much of the Washingtonshoreline of the ColumbiaRiver, and lesseramounts were found on oceanbeaches. Small amounts of oil were observedin GraysHarbor and in WillapaBay. Later, a smallnumber of oil globsand tar ballswere reported on oceanbeaches north to Cape Flattery,at the entranceto the Straitof Juan de Fuca. Small amountsof oil were also reportedas far south as Cannon Beach, Oregon. The Whidbey Island Spill An unidentifiedvessel released about 5000 gallonsof numbersix fuel oil into Puget Sound near WhidbeyIsland on 21 December1984 (Figure1). When first reportedthat day a slick extendedabout 10 milesfrom north to PossessionSound. About 1500 gallonscame ashore on south Whidbey Island on 22 December 1984, and large amountsappeared on shorethere over the next 5 days. The majorityof the oil coveredshorelines Western Birds 18:109-116, 1987 109 WASHINGTON OIL SPILLS from ColumbiaBeach to ScatchetHead on the southernend of Whidbey Island. Additional small amounts were found on other beaches on south Whidbey Island and on beachesof other land areassuch as Marrowstone Island, BainbridgeIsland, and the KitsapPeninsula.

EFFECTS ON WATERBIRDS

Columbia River Impacts Part of the responseto both spillswas the cleaningof oil from shorelines and from shorelineand marshvegetation. For the ColumbiaRiver spillthis processstarted 24 March 1984 and continueddaily through16 April 1984, with crews,hired by Mobil Oil Co., workingalong the ColumbiaRiver and on the Washingtonocean beaches, especially of the Long BeachPeninsula, justnorth of the mouthof the ColumbiaRiver. The crewsdisposed of many dead oiled birdswithout recordingtheir identity, numbers,sex, age, etc. Altogether,450 oiled live birdswere retrievedand taken to the cleaning centerset up at the ColumbiaWhite-tailed Deer NationalWildlife Refuge (A. Berkner pers. comm., Table 1). The center opened 23 March 1984 and operated until 23 April 1984, althoughno new birdswere acceptedafter 9 April 1984. The mostnumerous species were WesternGrebe (50%), White- wingedScoter (17%), and Common Murre (26%). The birdswere released as soon as possibleafter treatment.In total, 284 (68%) birdswere released, but the species'identities were not recorded, the birds were released un- banded, and no data were collected on the survival rates of the released birds.Birds found oiled and alive afterthe centerceased accepting birds on 9 April 1984 werecared for by concernedcitizens and a rehabilitationcenter in Tillamook, Oregon. Unfortunately,no data on the speciesinvolved, their numbers,or their fate are available.In addition, at least 200 lightlyoiled, free-roamingwaterbirds were observed,including Western Grebes, uniden- tified scaups,unidentified mergansers, and gulls.

Table 1 Numbers and Percentagesof Bird SpeciesOiled, Captured, and Broughtto the CleaningStation for Treatmentafter the ColumbiaRiver Oil Spill

Species Number Percentage

Red-throated Loon (Gayla stellata) 4 <1% Common Loon (G. iramet) 2 <1 Western Grebe (Aechmophorusoccidentalis) 227 50 Goose (domestic. species unknown) 1 <1 Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 3 1 Greater Scaup (Aythya marila) 1 <1 Common Scoter (Melanittanigra) 9 2 Surf Scoter (M. perspicillata) 8 2 White-winged Scorer (M. fusca) 77 17 Common Murre (Uria aalge) 118 26

Total 450

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Figure1• Approximateareas of waterand shorelineoiled following the Columbia Riverand WhidbeyIsland. Washington. spills. 1984.

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One measureof the probableeffects of the oil spillon waterbirdsis the pro- portion of birds found oiled on ocean beachesbefore and after the spill. Startingin September1981, G. Lippert (pers. comm.) surveyedselected ocean beacheson the Long Beach Peninsulaeach month for live and dead waterbirdsand for the presenceof oil on the birdsfound. In 1981, only 1 of 110 (1%) birds, in 1982, 8 of 396 (2%), and in 1983, 2 of 577 (<1%) were found oiled. The proportionfound oiled increasedgreatly in 1984, when 87 of 581 (15%) were oiled. Other evidenceof the effect of the oil spill on waterbirds is the number of oiled live birds found on ocean beaches. Between September1981 and the end of February 1984 Lippert found 1136 dead birds but no live disabledbirds. Between 22 and 26 March 1984, however, he found 40 oiled live birdson a portion of the same beaches(G. Lippert pets. comm.). Whidbey Island Impacts As with the ColumbiaRiver spill, part of the responseto the Whidbey Island oil spill was the removal of oil and oiled vegetation from affected shorelines. Clean-up crews, contracted by the Coast Guard, removed materialprimarily on the southernend of WhidbeyIsland from 23 December 1984 to 9 January 1985. In the processover 360 unidentifiedoiled birds were removed (L. Kitfiepets. comm., Table 2). In addition,after the spillwe, Kitfie, and L. Leschner (pets. comm.) found another 42 individualsof at least 13 species(Table 2). Dead birdswere alsoremoved from beachesby concernedpersons who came to observethe oil spilrseffects; species and numbers are unknown. Thus, over 400 oiled dead birds were removed from beachesnear the oil spill. In responseto this spill, by D. Yearout and K. Baxter (pers. comm.) establishedand operated a bird cleaningstation at Mukilteo, SnohomishCo., from 23 Decemberthrough 29 December1984. Of 428 oiled birds(Table 2) brought to the cleaning station, 81 died in the clinic, and 347 were transportedto local rehabilitationcenters for intensivelong-term care (D. Yearout and K. Baxterpets. comm.). At leastanother 20 birdswere taken to another center, but their fate is unknown. Additionally,some people took an unknownnumber of oiled birdshome to care for them, so we can reportonly that 448 oiled birds of 20 specieswere taken to cleaning stationsfor treat- ment. The principalspecies were Western and Red-neckedgrebes (21%), Black Scorer (17%), Horned Grebe (11%), Common Loon (9%), and Common Goldeneye (9%) (Table 2). D. Yearout (pets. comm.) estimated that only about 50 of the birdstransferred to the rehabilitationcenters were released. We, Kitfie, and Leschnersearched the south end of Whidbey Islandby boat and on foot on 23, 24, and 26 December 1984 and 4 January 1985, and from a helicopteron 27 and 28 December1984. We saw more than 650 oiled, free-roamingindividuals of 34 species(Table 2). The behaviorof many oiled birdsobserved after the Whidbey Island oil spill appeared to change drastically.Many oiled individualswere able to avoid capture by humans but spent considerabletime loafing in the same area. Many severelyoiled, flightlessbirds roostedin unlikelylocations on shore. Some soughtshelter in recesseson the upper beach. Several of these

114 WASHINGTON OIL SPILLS birds were apparently taken by Bald Eagles (Haliaeetusleucocephalus), as eagleswere observedeating oiled birds on the beachesafter dead birdshad been removed. In 1978 and 1979 Speich and Wahl (1986) surveyedmore than 470 km of severalbeaches north of this spill site for oiled and incapacitatedbirds. They found only 110 dead and no live incapacitatedbirds. Immediately after this spill more than 400 dead oiled birds and about 450 oiled live but in- capacitated birds were found on just a few kilometers of beach, demonstratingthe spill'seffect.

DISCUSSION

Studiesof oiled and dead waterbirds(Coulson et al. 1968, Hope Joneset al. 1970, Bibbyand Lloyd 1977) in Englanddemonstrated that between 11 and 58% of carassessink at sea (see also Dunnet 1982, Bourne 1970), so probably many more birds were oiled and killed than actual carcasscounts document.The Britishdata suggestthat factorsof 2 to 9 mightbe appliedto the counts.However, we doubtthat the mortalityfrom thesetwo spills, especiallythe WhidbeyIsland event, wasas great,because these factors were derivedfrom data collectedon beachesfacing the North AtlanticOcean and the IrishSea, whereasthe Washingtonspills occurred in relativelysheltered and enclosedareas. In the ColumbiaRiver birdswere undoubtedlyoften oiledwithin a few metersof shore,but an unknownnumber was probably oiled at sea. At WhidbeyIsland, birds may have encounteredthe oil from a few metersto perhapsa few kilometersoff shore.Oiled birds were probably in the waterfor relativelyshort periods of time beforethey were beached, decreasingthe sinkingrate. In enclosedwaters such as these a higherpropor- tion of the birdsoiled may reachshore alive. Indeed, duringthe Whidbey Islandoil spilloiled birds were found on beachesthe sameday the spillwas reported, and 40-50 were found oiled and alive and 30-40 were found oiled and dead in the first24 hoursafter the spill(j. Jamespers. comm.). Oiled birdswere first found on oceanbeaches 3 daysafter the spilloccurred on the ColumbiaRiver (G. Lippertpers. comm.).

CONCLUSIONS

Only 450 oiledbirds were documented from the ColumbiaRiver oil spill, whichis clearlya minimaltotal. More than 1500 birdswere oiledas a resultof the WhidbeyIsland oil spill,also a minimaltotal. Of the more than 1500 oiled waterbirds,650 were observedfree-roaming, about 450 were broughtto cleaningstations, and at least400 birdswere found dead. It is unclearhow thesefigures should be usedto indicatethe numbersof birdsactually affected. Moreeffort is needed to documentthe lossof waterbirdsfrom oil spills; the effortin thesespills was inadequate.An emergencyresponse team of ex- periencedwaterbird biologists should be on callto respondto spills.Standard waterbirdsurvey techniques and beachtransects on foot would resultin data adequatefor analysisof the immediateimpacts of oil spillson waterbirds. Standardizedmethods would allow comparisonof impactson waterbirds from differentspills and betterevaluation of the impactson waterbirdsof in-

115 WASHINGTON OIL SPILLS dividual oil spills. Although difficult to determine, the survivabilityand reproductivepotential of released rehabilitatedoiled birds and of free- roaming oiled birdsare importantbut unknown variables.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This paper is possiblebecause of the contributionsof many individuals.Foremost are the unnamed volunteerswho felt compassionfor the oiled birds and contributed countlesshours in their rescue. Jules James, and Kay Baxter and Douglas Yearout, D.V.M., of the Wildlife Care Center of Everett, Washington,provided many details pertinent to the Whidbey Island volunteer responseand cleaning station and to the fate of treatedbirds. Lora Leschner,Washington Department of Game, and Leu Kit- fie, WashingtonDepartment of Ecology, provided resultsof their Whidbey Island surveys.Kittie also provided observations from the ColumbiaRiver spill. Alice Berkner of InternationalBird Rescue, Berkeley, California, made availableher notesfrom the Columbia River oil spill clinic. Greg Lippert provided unpublishedobservations on beachedbird rates. The commentsof Alan Craig and the presenteditor greatly im- proved this paper.

LITERATURE CITED

Aldrich, E.C. 1938. A recent oil pollutionand its effectson the water birdsof the San FranciscoBay area. Bird-Lore 40:110-114. Bibby, C., and Lloyd, C. 1977. Experimentsto determinethe fate of dead birdsat sea. Biol. Conserv. 12:295-309. Bourne, W.R.P. 1970. After the "Torrey Canyon" disaster.Ibis 112:120-125. Coulson, J.C., Potts, G.R., Deans, I.R., and Fraser,S.M. 1968. Expectedmortality of Shags and other seabirdscaused by paralytic shellfishpoison. Br. Birds. 61:381-404. Dunnett, G.M. 1982. Oil pollution and seabirdpopulations. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London B 297:413-427. Hope Jones,P., Howells,G., Rees,E.I.S., and Wilson,J. 1970. Effects•f the Hamilton Trader oil on birdsin the Irish Sea in May 1969. Br. Birds63:97-110. Kennedy, D.M., and Baca, B.J., eds. 1984. Fate and effectsof the Mobiloilspill in the ColumbiaRiver. Natl. OceanicAtmospheric Admin., Ocean Assess.Div., Seat- tle, WA. U.S. GPO 593-870.99 pp. Moffitt, J., and Orr, R.T. 1938. Recent disastrouseffects of oil pollutionon birdsof the San FranciscoBay region. Calif. Fish & Game. 24:239-244. Point ReyesBird Observatory.1985. The impactsof the T/V Puerto Ricanoil spillon marine bird and mammal populationsin the Gulf of the Farallones, 6-19 November 1984. PRBO Spec. Sci. Rep. 77 pp. Richardson,F. 1956. Sea birdsaffected by oil from the freighterSeagate. Murrelet 37:20-22. Small, J., Ainley, D.G., and Strong, H. 1972. Notes on birds killed in the 1971 San Franciscooil spill. Calif. Birds 3:25-32. Speich, S.M., and Wahl, T.R. 1986. Rate of occurrenceof dead birds in Washing- ton's inland marine waters, 1978 and 1979. Murrelet 67:53-61. Vermeer, K., and Vermeer, R. 1975. Oil threat to birds on the Canadian west coast. Can. Field-Nat. 89:278-298. Accepted 29 July 1987

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