BP Oil Spill and Migration

[Penny Briscoe]

Does anybody have a guess on how the martins will be affected when they migrate back to Brazil, having to cross through the BP Oil Spill Area? I am already getting concerned for them. I am having a very successful season in southwest Michigan on Barton Lake with eggs in several nest boxes. I don't think I'll have hatchlings until about June 14. There are about 15 other people along the lake who have martins, and together I'd say we have between 300 and 400 birds. I am the only one monitoring them and am working on getting others to do the same.

[Sparky]

I don't really see them affected by the oil spill. Most of the migration routs go down the Mexican coastline and the Eastern birds go down through Florida and hop the Islands. The few that hop the rigs across the major body of water shouldn't be affected. The oil spill is 150 miles out and the oil seems to go between the rig and coastline.

[Joe Zorn]

That's salt water in the Gulf. The Martins will fly over the spill effected part of their journey very quickly without making any attempt to land in that muck.

Sparky, I bet as many martins fly across the Gulf from Louisiana to the Yucatan as those traveling westward through Texas/Mexico or East from Florida through the Carribbean Island.

I live on the Louisiana coastline directly in that central fly zone. The oil has already begun coming ashore due south of me at Grand Isle and Terrebonne Parish. Want a job? Environmental cleanup will be going on around here for years! Nothing will ever be the same here.

[John Miller]

I'm concerned it may put martins in danger at roosts, if the oil blows into areas like Lake Ponchartrain..roost at the Causeway. What if a martin just dips into it to bathe? But I know the mess is way bigger than just martins. John M

[Louise Chambers]

Some martins, as tracked by geolocators, jump off from Louisiana for their trans Gulf flight. Others leave from FL, MS, and AL or TX. Roosts along the Gulf might be affected by food shortages if the marshes and wetlands are oil soaked. And as John Miller mentioned, if oil is pushed into fresh water, martins could contact it from drinking or bathing. Mostly though, we don't know, other than it's a huge mess that will affect the Gulf and the coast for years to come.

[Sparky]

That's salt water in the Gulf. The Martins will fly over the spill effected part of their journey very quickly without making any attempt to land in that muck.

Sparky, I bet as many martins fly across the Gulf from Louisiana to the Yucatan as those traveling westward through Texas/Mexico or East from Florida through the Carribbean Island.

I live on the Louisiana coastline directly in that central fly zone. The oil has already begun coming ashore due south of me at Grand Isle and Terrebonne Parish. Want a job? Environmental cleanup will be going on around here for years! Nothing will ever be the same here.

Joe, I might need one (job). I work in the oil industry out of Houston engineering Subsea equipment Globally. Our largest customer is Anadarko. With the halt in drilling in the GOM, I might need a job in the cleanup area. As soon as BP gets that well plugged ASAP, the better for everyone!
Hopefully, the freshwater supply does not get affected.