Responding to the San Francisco Bay oil spill

photo by Alison Sheehey

Immediately following the initial reports of the Nov. 7 oil spill, the staff at Richardson Bay Audubon Center and Sanctuary swung into action to respond to the potential damage that the rapidly spreading oil slick might do to the sanctuary’s bird populations and important habitat areas.

Led by Center Director Brooke Langston, staff and an increasing number of volunteers worked throughout the early days of the spill to monitor the sanctuary’s waters and beaches for oil. It was during this time that the first oiled birds were spotted.

On Nov. 10, oil was spotted for the first time on the water within the boundaries of the sanctuary, and oil was spotted onshore for the first time in nearby bays. As the threat to the bay seemed to increase, Langston and her team began collecting samples of local flora and fauna to give themselves a clean baseline of the area, a valuable tool in the event that a full recovery was necessary. Richardson Bay staff would also be able to refer to their extensive oyster and eelgrass experimentation for documentation of the bay ecosystem.

Thanks to favorable winds and tides, by Monday most of the oil that had been spotted on the water had dissipated or sunk beneath the surface. While oil had come ashore in numerous locations around the sanctuary, the amount was not so great that it overwhelmed the clean-up efforts of staff and volunteers.

With the oil less of a concern, workers turned their attention to the oiled birds, which were more evident than ever before. In the seven days following the spill, more than 200 oiled birds (of a variety of species) had been spotted. Many of these were already dead, while others couldn’t be caught. Staff were able to transport more than 24 to recovery centers.

As we move into the second full week of the disaster, it has become increasingly clear that the recovery effort will last for weeks and months. Those who have stepped up to help have been greatly appreciated, and we hope that many of those volunteers will continue to help the Center as it brings back area birds and habitat over the next several months.