The number of dead birds recovered along Florida’s coastline is nearing that of Louisiana. As of Thursday, there were 431 dead birds recovered in our area compared to 470 in Louisiana. In terms of those collected alive, Florida had  127 while Louisiana’s number was 695.
Obviously the numbers do not reflect many that die over the ocean or are not reported to authorities.
Leith Edgar, the FWS liason at the Mobile Incident Command Post, tells IN that a lot of birds are often unreported because people don’t see the oil on their bodies.
“The way we identify them is through behavior. When a bird like the Loon, which is usually found offshore, is up on the beach, you know something is wrong. It’s harder for the public to find birds effected because they look normal (not covered with oil).”
Edgar says the birds that are most vulnerable to the spill are the smaller ones such as terns that are “high strung.”
“Pelicans (and bigger birds) usually are some of the hardier birds…they do pretty well…they are more resilient in terms of their makeup.”
Here are the consolidated fish and wildlife numbers: http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/posted/2931/7_1_web_wildlife_report.730075.pdf