We've heard from Cristina Sandoval at the Coal Oil Point Reserve in Santa Barbara that, while oil from the nearby oil spill at Refugio State Park has been light at the reserve, and even dwindling, there has been at least two Threatened Western Snowy Plovers affected by the oil. In a past post, we expressed concern that the Threatened Western Snowy Plovers at Coal Oil Point Preserve in Santa Barbara would be affected by the oil spill that started north of there at Refugio State Park. In a Facebook post, Sandoval says on the reserve Facebook page that in addition to two plovers spotted with oil, one pelican and one young sea lion, were spotted and rescued, as well.

Here's her entire update:

"Update on the oil spill at the Reserve 5/22 and 5/23

"Dear friends,

"This update includes yesterday and this morning. COPR had its first oiled Pelican and an oiled sea lion (http://www.keyt.com/…/oily-sea-lion-found-alive-on…/33180592. Yet, these animals seemed to have acquired the oil elsewhere and came to COPR to rest. Both were rescued for clean-up. On the morning of 5/23/2015 we observed the first oiled Snowy Plover. The Plover had a piece of surfgrass stuck to the oil on his body. He tried to wash himself on the ocean and then went back to the nesting area. A second one was found oiled in the afternoon

"On May 23, the tar from the oil spill had decreased and no recoverable oil was found. The spill consisted of tar balls and sheen.This is the update from UCSB Government Relation: The most notable information was that NOAA is not seeing very much oil on the water, other than scattered tarballs (dime sized) and light sheen. With the winds this afternoon and tonight, they expect oil to be pushed in a north eastward direction, but they do not have a good sense as to how much oil is out there because they are not seeing very much in their flyover operations. They believe that the heavier winds will cause the thin oil layer to dissipate and diminish over time. The crew in the flyovers have familiarity with our natural seeps. They are seeing seep activity in the form of bubbles and sheen.

"On May 22 and 23 we observed a medium to large amount of tar when compared to the normal tar at the Reserve. A large group of USFWS and CAFW staff and UCSB staff including UCSB Emergency Manager Jim Caesar, visited the Reserve on the morning of May 23 to evaluate the tar and discuss a plan to clean up. We were unclear if the observed tar on the beach was from the oil spill or from the oil seeps and decided that a fingerprinting of the tar was needed. The amount of tar at this point is patchy and small and can be buried with minimal disturbance to the plovers. We chose this approach instead of a larger scale cleanup that could impact the plovers. We also agreed that a floating boom on the ocean (installed by boats) should have been a choice of method to prevent the tar from reaching the Reserve. We have learned a lot about the various methods and the situation that they are most appropriate and also that the language we use to describe a procedure needs to be more clear. We will be revising the cleanup plan for future oil spills.

"In summary, COPR seem to have been spared off a major impact of the oil spill and we’ve learned lessons for the future. The spill is not over but it looks better every day.

All the best,

Cris"

(photo of Western Snowy Plover pair at a completely different time and place by Mike Baird)