Photo: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response, June 15, 2010. Fisheries biologists prepare to rescue an oiled brown pelican from the Gulf of Mexico. Kim Betton/US Fish & Wildlife Service

Wildlife Response During Large-scale Oil Spills

Presented by Barbara Callahan, Senior Director of Response and Preparedness Services, International Bird Rescue

Wednesday, April 16, 2025, 7:00pm

Dungeness River Nature Center

Free to attend.

During large-scale, marine oil spills, the majority of animals that come into care are aquatic birds who need immediate and very specific care once they're oiled, due to the fact that they can no longer stay warm, buoyant or even fly, in some cases. 

Barbara Callahan

Barbara's presentation will cover the effects of oil on wildlife and how International Bird Rescue responds to save wildlife around the world, including capture and medical stabilization. International Bird Rescue has helped manage over 250 marine oil spills in dozens of countries and while most of the animals in care are aquatic birds, some spills result in other aquatic wildlife being impacted and brought into care, which will also be covered in this talk.

Over 29 years with International Bird Rescue, Barbara has managed many large-scale, oiled wildlife responses and been part of oiled wildlife planning, training and response in more than a dozen countries around the world including Azerbaijan, Canada, Brazil, Estonia, France, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand and South Africa.