I was horrified to learn last week that waterbirds were showing up dead or dying in San Francisco Bay contaminated by a mysterious sticky substance. And this problem persists even now. At the time, I was even more horrified when I discovered that most of these birds are being found in an area that we've recently identified as being one of the three most important regions in the bay for wintering waterbirds.

Thousands of Surf Scoters, Greater/Lesser Scaup, and other waterbirds use the area near Hayward and the San Leandro Marina, specifically, every winter because it provides the food resources and relative calm that they need in order to build strength and stamina for their migration to breeding grounds in Canada and Alaska. This isn't just a random corner of the bay. It’s Ground Zero for waterbird feeding and staging during the winter months.

We are in the process of nominating this region of the bay, along with a portion of San Pablo Bay, to become a marine Important Bird Area (IBA), and because of the vulnerability of the species occurring in these places, we expect these new IBAs will receive the Globally Important’ status recognized by the National Audubon Society. Surf Scoters in the Pacific Flyway have seen a 50% decline since 1950, and in San Francisco Bay their decline has been much more drastic in recent years. Also, during and following the Cosco Busan oil spill in 2007, Surf Scoters suffered the largest casualty percentage of any species – 1,147 of the 1,624 mortalities.

Scaup as a group (including greater and lesser) have also declined by approximately 50% over the past several decades, and their continental population is almost 40% below the goal set in the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. These birds, along with Horned Grebes (another species badly hurt by the 2007 oil spill), Bufflehead, and some shorebirds, are now dying or fighting for their lives because of this deadly chemical that they had no way of avoiding.

Audubon launched the Important Bird Areas program in the United States in order to identify the most critical places that bird species need in order to thrive. IBAs are a network of strongholds and corridors that give birds a chance to succeed in the face of daunting odds. But Audubon granting this designation in an area does not automatically fortify a place for birds. In fact, most IBAs are in places that we can only hope to protect through public and private partnerships. This becomes even more complicated for marine IBAs in places like San Francisco Bay with many competing priorities, and the open water of San Francisco Bay provides no special protections for these waterbirds.

According to International Bird Rescue, the primary group responding to this crisis by rescuing sick birds, more than 300 have been admitted for care and more than 200 have been found dead. (*Updated 2:30 p.m. on 1/22/15)

the primary group responding to this crisis by rescuing sick birds, 360 birds have been impacted and 120 of those have died so far. We won’t know for weeks or months the damage that has been done to the other marine life in the bay as a result of this episode. We also don’t yet know the identity or source of the substance, but so far the story is disturbingly similar to two incidents in the U.K. in 2013 that left thousands of birds dead from a chemical spill that wasn’t even illegal.

Audubon chapter members in the bay area have been volunteering their time since the weekend, and some have made donations to International Bird Rescue to support their work caring for and cleaning sick birds. Audubon California is also supplying volunteers for the bird rescue efforts, as well as surveying for birds along the shorelines of the eastern and northern portions of the bay. We’re also communicating with our membership about what can be done to help.

The following few weeks may provide some answers, and we may be able to hold someone accountable for these bird deaths, and for the cost of cleanup. But our combined and continued abuse of the bay does not add up to a healthy future for birds and wildlife. This week, notwithstanding the efforts of International Bird Rescue and the many volunteers, we've failed the waterbirds on San Francisco Bay.

Jordan Wellwood is director of the Richardson Bay Audubon Center & Sanctuary

(*updated photo above of Surf Scoters in a recovery tank at International Bird Rescue)