The U.S. Coast Guard says it has been taking reports of oiled wildlife in the wake of Hurricane Isaac.
"One dead oiled brown pelican, one dead oiled clapper rail, one dead oiled common moorhen, and three live oiled wildlife were recovered near Myrtle Grove," according to a news release from the Coast Guard.
The dead birds were taken to a rehabilitation center in Belle Chasse. Investigators will perform necropsies to determine the cause of death.
Investigators will also work to determine if the oil is from the 2010 BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
Officials also say that assessment teams in the field discovered oil in Bayou St. Denis, Myrtle Grove and near Port Sulphur. There are also reports of sheening in Breton Sound that they are investigating.
They didn't find any oil in Lake Pontchartrain, but they did see multiple displaced drums and containers.
"We are conducting overflights, ground assessments, airboat and small boat operations to seek out and recover any impacted wildlife and to find any oil or hazardous materials so we can recover them as quickly as possible to minimize the impact to residents and the environment," said Lt. Cmdr. Lushan Hannah, incident commander at Coast Guard Sector New Orleans.
If you see oil, officials say stay away from it and call the Sector New Orleans Operations Center at 504-365-2200 or the National Response Center at 800-424-8802.
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