Bird Bath

Ellen McCarty

Five birds that were covered with oil in the Ballona Creek oil spill last

week in Los Angeles were released back to nature in Huntington Beach on

Friday. They were scrubbed clean by volunteers at the Wetlands and

Wildlife Care Center of Orange County, officials said.

The mallard ducks can be identified by a small metal band attached to

their legs by the Department of Fish and Game. Fish and Game workers

attach the bands in order to track the long-term health of oil spill

survivors.

“This is a quick recovery compared to other spills,” said Jim Robbins, a

volunteer who has helped birds at the center for the last nine years.

“The birds weren’t at the scene long enough to become heavily oiled.”

Dozens of volunteers at the center on Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington

Beach scrubbed the shocked birds in soapy water Thursday and tube fed

them until they were healthy enough to survive on their own, he said.