The oil is a clear death sentence for many of the birds, says Christer Michaelsen in the Norwegian Nature Conservancy.
– Those who are hardest hit will not make it. They are unable to find food and they also freeze to death easily.
Michaelsen and his colleagues counted around 200 oil-damaged seabirds on Wednesday this week. Most were of the lomvi and puffin species.
The grove is assessed as highly threatened in Norway, after the population has plummeted in recent decades.
Photo: Knut-Sverre Horn
Later, several injured birds were discovered both elsewhere on Hornøya, inside Vardø harbour, and in the fishing village of Kiberg a little further west.
Since the source of the discharge is not known, it is impossible to know whether there are also birds that have died out at sea.
Poisoned by the oil
Seabird researcher Tone Kristin Reiertsen at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research has assessed NRK’s images of the oil-damaged birds.
– There are heartbreaking images, she says.
Several of the birds have so much oil in their wings that they cannot fly. They must have swum or drifted ashore after being hogged.
Christer Michaelsen from SNO has seen the oil-damaged birds in the field, researcher Tone Reiertsen has seen NRK’s pictures. The two agree that a great many of the birds will die.
Photo: Knut-Sverre Horn/NRK
Reiertsen is aware that the vast majority of the birds will die. Those who do not starve and freeze to death will eventually die of poisoning.
– They spend a lot of time cleaning their plumage. They get a lot of oil into their digestive system, and gradually become more and more poisoned. Essentially, they have little chance of survival if they get oil in their plumage, Reiertsen says.
The poisoning can also affect birds that currently fly well and seem to be doing well.
Lomvien tries desperately to clean the feathers of oil. Then it becomes poisoned.
Photo: Knut-Sverre Horn
Maybe euthanasia
There is not much that can be done to help the affected birds, according to Erik Lund, section leader in the Norwegian Environment Agency.
Washing away the oil spill is rarely successful, and it stresses the birds a lot.
– There is no plan right now to go in with active euthanasia, says Lund. At the same time, he emphasizes that they are following the situation closely going forward and are trying to get one overview of the scope.
It may be appropriate to euthanize injured birds if it will not be a nuisance or a danger to the other birds on the site.
The lomvi on the left has no chance of recovery, while the one on the right may have an opportunity to make it, as Tone Reiertsen assesses based on the picture. She emphasizes that the assessment is difficult and uncertain. Swipe for more examples.
This grove is also so little affected that it can survive.
The same applies to this lomvi.
An oil spill of this magnitude means certain death.
A thick layer of oil has seeped into both the insulating body feathers and the wing feathers, so that the loon cannot fly.
Endangered species
The nature reserve on Hornøya is now the most important breeding ground for the gannet, which is critically endangered.
– We have had 30,000 pairs on Hornøya. It is a very important colony for Norwegian loons. Overall, the loon population has declined by almost 90 per cent since the 1960s, Reiertsen says.
According to Reiertsen, the release that has now occurred could have an impact on the stock. She points out that it affects a population that is already threatened.
A small flock of loons sits apathetically on the shore on Hornøya.
Photo: Knut-Sverre Horn
Species such as loons and puffins only lay one egg each season, and are initially very slow to build up the population again.
– Hif they are then in decline, they may not have the ability to do so at all.
The spill was discovered because the birds entered the nesting area, where there are a number of tourists and bird watchers.
In winter, when the birds are far out to sea, it would have been much more difficult to detect, Reiertsen points out.
Looking for oil spills by plane
The source of the spill remains a mystery.
– We do not know where the discharge is coming from. We have no suspects, says Silje Berger, supervisor of the Coastal Administration’s environmental preparedness.
DAccording to Berger, ongoing satellite monitoring of the sea is taking place, which largely captures oil spills. A search in the satellite images from the last few days has nevertheless yielded no results.
The fire service in Vardø has also not found any discharge locally.
On Friday afternoon, the Norwegian Coastal Administration’s aircraft will examine the sea areas off Finnmark in the hope of finding the source. The plane is equipped with radar and infrared sensors, says Berger.
– We are looking widely, because we do not know where it originates. The can of course also be a land-based source.
The Norwegian Coastal Administration’s surveillance aircraft have radar and infrared sensors to be able to find oil spills at sea.
Photo: Espen Reite/Kystverket
Can damage bird for months
Hvif no one finds the spill and can take care of it, the oil can in theory continue to harm seabirds for a long time.
– The oil will break up into smaller pieces, and eventually spread in the bodies of water. It will disappear from the surface, and thus not be available to birds, says Berger.
– But if it is a very heavy oil, it can take some time before it breaks down. It can be from weeks to months.
Samples of the oil have been sent for analysis at Sintef. In principle, it can make it possible to confirm the source of the discharge if you have a suspect.
More birds could be harmed if no one finds the oil spill and takes care of it. The Nature Conservancy will monitor Hornøya in the coming days.
Photo: Knut-Sverre Horn
Tags: Oil spill kills endangered seabirds Finnmark hunt source spill NRK Troms Finnmark
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