Today the RSPCA at West Hatch reported that they have now received a total of 301 live casualties:
Of these, 39 could not be saved, the remainder are still in care. Efforts are concentrated on rescuing live birds, but the RSPCA have also collected approximately 40 dead birds, and sighted an estimated 85-90 that were inaccessible.
The majority of the birds the RSPCA are caring for have come from the Portland/Ferrybridge area of Dorset but some have come from elsewhere along the Dorset coast, and a few have come from Devon and Cornwall.
The South Devon Seabird Trust currently has 17 guillemots in care.
An RSPB volunteer walked over 3 km of the east end of Chesil Beach on Saturday. He recorded:
Of the total of 33 birds, 16 were in the east half of the section covered, 17 in the west half: i.e. there was no evidence of frequency decreasing westwards. As Chesil Beach is more than 4 times longer than the stretch he walked, it may be reasonable to assume there were more than 100 birds along the beach.
Best estimates on casualties are therefore well over 300 survivors and a similar number of dead birds.
The species most affected continues to be guillemots (90%), with the remaining 10% largely razorbills. Other confirmed casualties have been 1 puffin, 1 fulmar, 1 kittiwake, 1 cormorant and 1 gannet.
No further news on the identity or source of the man-made mineral oil is currently available.
Images: Marc Smith, Dorset Wildlife Trust