Birds rescued from oil spill in Muddy River in Massachusetts returned back to their home
BROOKLINE - Nearly a month after dozens of ducks and geese were left covered in oil from a spill in the Muddy River, they were released back into the water Friday afternoon.
"They're so happy," said Margaret Byrne, the spill response coordinator at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. "I saw one taking a bath and I'm like they're back to the wild again for the first time in a month."
On Dec. 8, The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection said roughly 100 gallons of home heating oil spilled into the water, leaving Brookline's wildlife at risk.
Birds were in critical condition
"A lot of them were truly in critical condition," said Zak Mertz, CEO of New England Wildlife Center. "When we first came across them, they were strewn up and down the river. Now, the difference is night and day."
Thanks to the help of multiple city and state agencies including MassDEP, MassWildlife, and Boston Park Rangers, the New England Wildlife Center was able to capture and rescue the birds and transport them to their hospital in Barnstable where their staff washed the animals clean of the harmful oils.
"It was a five-day field effort, and we rescued 44 birds total," said Mertz. "Of that, 38 survived."
According to Katrina Bergman, President of the New England Wildlife Center, there may have been more deaths if not for the help of her staff.
"They worked so hard," she said. "And the birds, they were able to get in the water and re-waterproof their feathers and have a spa day."
That spa day is one of the reasons the birds were able to fly free on Friday, back to the place where they belong.
