As damage from the nation’s largest oil spill continues, staggering numbers of birds and other wildlife are at risk. Even as groups along the Gulf Coast work feverishly to save the lives of individual birds, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is mobilizing birders and leading scientific efforts needed to recover bird populations and habitats. Please join our efforts to help the birds.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Check Gulf bird sightings on eBird
Image by Ben Clock
Record Your Bird Sightings
Use eBird to report healthy and oiled birds. Data are needed from all locations across the Gulf.
Learn more.
Image by Ben Clock
Donate for the Birds
Your contribution supports our conservation mission, including long-term recovery of birds and other wildlife affected by the oil spill.
Donate Now
Cornell Lab Scientists and Birders in Action
- Birders have submitted more than 250,000 observations of birds from Gulf States since May 4.
- Data from birders will help prioritize immediate clean-up efforts and long-term recovery.
- Bird watchers across the country are helping scientists monitor nests to determine whether migratory birds that encounter oil may carry the contamination with them, creating an "oil shadow" of declines in reproduction hundreds of miles from the coast.
- The Cornell Lab’s bioacoustics team will deploy 22 marine autonomous recording units at the bottom of the ocean to document the oil spill’s impact on marine life, including sperm whales and Bryde’s whales.
- Our multimedia production team is documenting the oil’s effects on birds to increase public and scientific knowledge.
- For news and latest reports from the field, visit our Round Robin blog
Oiled Birds on the Gulf Coast Audio Slideshow