Waterfowl and the Gulf?

[CANOPY SAM]

Has anyone other then myself considered what's going to happen when our migratory waterfowl return to the southern coast this fall?

We're fortunate that our North American Ducks and Geese are currently in the northern hemisphere raising their young, but what happens when they return to their southern wintering grounds?

I fear the gulf coast will be an immense death trap for millions of ducks and geese late this fall and winter, unless, by some miracle, the oil spill can be stopped, and cleaned up before they return.

Any thoughts by other concerned hunters?

[carpshooterdeluxe]

it sure will have an effect on some migratory populations, but hopefully it will be a small overall effect. no doubt that the la gulf marshes are some of the most important wetlands in the world, but much of our waterfowl doesn't winter that far south.

[Finlander]

Shortstop the migration!

I know the snowgeese will suffer from the oil spill!

[guppie]

I also was wondering what would happen. But how many birds actually go to the coast or coastal waters? I know that some divers will go all the way to cuba. Also, if the vegetation is dead will the birds even want to stay there? I would like to think that they will go to "greener pastures"

[Gordie]

This will probally affect the waterfowl hunters more than the waterfowl I hope that they can do something to remedy the spill

[CANOPY SAM]

On Wednesday I had a couple researchers from the US Fish and Wildlife Service out at our place and I asked them what their thoughts were on the situation.

I specifically asked if their offices were discussing the potential for serious implications to our migratory waterfowl. They said that no one was really thinking that far ahead.

I gotta say, I wasn't too impressed that our Federally assigned wildlife "protectors" were not thinking more than a few months down the road about ducks and geese.

I was told that following hurricane Katrina the USF&W witnessed some of the lowest waterfowl counts in history along the gulf coast, but of course this event didn't include a massive toxic spill of near global proportions.

According to these folks most of the ducks and geese stop just short of the tidal marshes to loaf and live in freshwater marshes that border the saltwater estuaries. One good storm could easily introduce oil to these areas though, and much of the ecology, from bacteria, invertebrates, plant life, etc., would be dessimated. The cleanup would be nearly impossible, and the loss of an entire ecosystem may be inevitible.

In my mind, I still cannot figure out why, after how many years of off-shore drilling, the big oil companies do not have an emergency contingency plan for an event such as this. It makes me really angry to think these companies have made hundreds of billions of dollars and haven't bothered to come up with safety measures to prevent this kind of tragedy.

We better enjoy this autumn's migration to the fullest. I fear we may not see nearly as many waterfowl return to the Mississippi Flyway and prairie potholes next spring.

[brittman]

According to these folks most of the ducks and geese stop just short of the tidal marshes to loaf and live in freshwater marshes that border the saltwater estuaries.

Yep this is correct. In Louisiana few ducks are out in the Gulf. More ducks in the Gulf in Texas and Mexico (whole lotta redheads call that area home in the winter).

Most coastal marshes that I have hunted and fished are rather brackish - fresh and salt water intertwine with tidal movement (small compared to Atlantic tides) and the influx of freshwater (local rain and/or river flowage). I suppose ducks move with the changes in salinity just like the fish do.

Food sources will be an issue for retaining the ducks and keeping them healthy for their return next spring.

[guppie]

It makes me really angry to think these companies have made hundreds of billions of dollars and haven't bothered to come up with safety measures to prevent this kind of tragedy.

Yup, to busy trying to figure out how to invest there millions, no time for a prevention plan! no time for disaster cleanups! And they are the smart ones?

[Musky Buck]

They just kicked out 45 million like it was nothing. What a mess so no one dared ask the question if there is failure and crude starts spilling into the ocean how do we stop it, is there a shut off valve. If not don't drill there people. What a mess and what's the implications as we go forward, sad sad situation.

[brittman]

Great Lakes have been known to go through a few manmade issues too.

[Scott M]

I know DU has been sending out a bunch of emails on the subject. I can't remember where I read it, but a pretty significant fraction of the continental waterfowl population uses the Gulf Coast in the winter, at this rate the oil could wander pretty far back into brackish water and beyond. The photos of shorebirds right now paint an ugly picture.

Good post Sam. I think this is something waterfowlers need to think about and turning their attention to. I'd like to think the Feds were at least thinking about it. Not much they can really do I suppose.

[Finlander]

Just think what a hurricane will do if it comes on shore near the oil spill.

Just hope this doesn't occur!

[CANOPY SAM]

A couple days ago a friend of mine sent me an e-mail of a couple good ole' southern boys and their idea on how to clean up the oil spill. It was so simple and inexpensive it was almost ridiculous.

This guy has two stainless steel bowls of fresh water. He pours about two cups of crude oil into each bowl then proceeds to toss in a couple handfulls of dried hay into each bowl - evidently two different types of hay.

He takes some type of kitchen strainer and mixes the hay into the water with the oil. He then lifts the hay out of the water and lo and behold the oil is stuck to the grass and the water is left remarkably clean.

He further explains that the wave action in the gulf, mixed in with large rafts of scattered hay grass on the surface, would simply cause the oil to adhere to the grass. Beach combing equipment could then just pick up the oil soaked grass, take it inland, and dispose of it accordingly.

There are machines that can shred hay bales and spray the shredded grass for thousands of feet. If the oil reaches the sandy shores, or into the marshes, as we're already seeing, the cleanup will be exponentially more difficult.

If this could be done now, covering large areas of the spill with hay grass, hundred of thousands of gallons of oil could be trapped quickly, and inexpensively, before it reaches the beaches, estuaries, and brackish marshes where millions of waterfowl will land for winter in a few short months. Lord knows we can come up with millions of tons of hay, and it's much cheaper than a toxic dispersant.

I suppose this would be too simple and inexpensive for BP and our government though. They need something that's much more difficult and expensive so they look "smarter" doing it!

This thing is much, much bigger than what we're being told. If something significant isn't done soon we'll see migratory bird kills this fall like nothing we've ever seen before.

[B. Amish]

human hair is also used to soak up oil.

[CANOPY SAM]

Well it appears that my concerns from 3 months ago were not entirely unfounded.

The latest issue of the Minnesota Conservation Volunteer has a couple articles outlining potential problems our migratory waterfowl will face as they move south this fall.

Our loons, in particular, may be facing as I stated earlier, an immense death trap! The grebes, sandpipers, and even Scaup may face the same fate.

I'd be willing to guess many of our divers make their way out onto the gulf, or saltwater estuaries that line the gulf coastas well, and are currently uninhabitable.

Like I said in June. Better enjoy it while we can.

I sure hope this doesn't turn out as bad as I thought it might....