Category: Deepwater Horizon Blog

Day seven. I had another day at Fort Jackson planned, but had to stop and photograph the alligators on the way, so cool. Day seven went pretty much as the previous one did, with me helping out where ever I could and talking to the very positive and up beat team that were there (one...

Day six. Everyone was taking off except me. I had been invited to stay with a forensic psychiatrist who was volunteering at Fort Jackson, so I packed my gear and headed out to the rehab station. I spent the day working with Dr Erica Miller from Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research, admitting birds, sweeping floors,...

Day five. Up at 5am. I was given permission to go to Fort Jackson at 8am – a 2 hour drive away. I arrived and was allowed to sign in and get identification under the auspices of the International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC). I then spent several hours meeting the teams and watching as...

Day four. Slept in till 6am. Still hot and humid. We spent this day out in the helicopter again, flying eastward into Alabama. This is where the reality finally hit me. Flying over Mobile Bay between the land and Dauphin Island you could see extensive oil slicks and sheen. Not so bad in itself until...

Day three. Get up time 2:30am. Out of the hotel at 3am to get to the boat. Still hot and humid even at this time of the day. Today was spent out on the water looking at the problem from the water level into both the marshes and wetland areas, and the again, the enormity...

Day two. The heat and humidity had not abated at all and we were up early in what was to become the pattern of long days, with early starts, late nights and little sleep. It was mainly all work. We spent the day in a helicopter surveying the Mississippi Delta region and extensive wetlands. Many...

Day one. It was an uneventful trip down to Louisiana, and my first time in New Orleans. The signs of Hurricane Katrina are still everywhere, from the new houses side by side with abandoned wrecks with holes in the roofs from people hacking their way to safer ground on top of their homes. It is...

Departure June 9, 2010 What a nightmare! I have been watching the Gulf spill happen from a safe distance, horrified at the images shown in newspapers and TV, all from the comfort of my own home. That ends this Thursday. I have been asked by the Humane Society of the US (HSUS) to join a...