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“Many will likely die unseen far out in the Gulf. For instance, in the Exxon Valdez spill, it was estimated that assistance and rescue staff only saw about one of every ten birds affected”, American Bird Conservancy President George Fenwick cautioned.

“Further, what is difficult to measure is the loss of future generations of birds when birds fail to lay eggs or when eggs fail to hatch. Many of the birds are incubating eggs right now, and we know that even small amounts of oil on the parent’s feathers will kill the young,” he said.

“And bird prey bases are also impacted. The very fisheries that sustain the economy of the region also sustain the seabirds along the coast. The impacts to fish stocks may have substantial, long-lasting effects on seabird,” he said.

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We continue to send out our search and collection teams in search of oiled birds. They attempted capture on a few oiled brown pelicans yesterday but the birds were flighted and strong.

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"We know, in this area right now, that there are sperm whales. There are dolphins right in the oil slick".

If an oil spill is small enough, animals can leave the area. "Some of them can get away," Bossart said. "It's totally dependent on the size of the slick, and this is huge."

Exposure to the oil for a prolonged period of time can result in a toxic effect on the skin, and mammals can suffer lung damage or death after breathing it in.

"The brown pelican's (Louisiana's state bird) breeding season just began, according to the Initiative, and "many pairs are already incubating eggs."

More than 800 brown pelicans died when a smaller oil spill hit Louisiana's Breton Island National Wildlife Refuge a few years ago, MacKenzie said.

Species of beach-nesting terns and gulls, beach-nesting shorebirds, large wading birds, marsh birds and ocean-dwelling birds are also at risk, along with migratory shorebirds and songbirds.

"When the oil starts to settle, it'll smother the oyster beds. It'll kill the oysters," he said.

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