Santa leads a fleet of boats down the bayou.

Christmas Boat Parade

Santa leads a fleet of boats down the bayou.

Bird's Eye View of Barataria Bay Wetlands

Aerial View of Barataria Bay Area

GULF COAST - Drew Wheelan, ABA Conservation Coordinator, tags along with the Lower Mississippi River and Achafalaya Basin Keepers for a fly over of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Barataria Bay region of coastal Louisiana. South Wings Aviation provided the flight that gave Drew the opportunity to document a "bird's eye view" of the marsh islands that many species of wildlife call home.



Video recorded on day seventy-four of "The Disaster in the Gulf", just after Hurricane Alex passed through the region. The flight goes over several colonies of birds, including Pelicans, Gulls, Herons and Terns that are being hit hard by the oil and mother nature.

PLEASE NOTE: There was a heavy haze that day but Drew's determination carried him through. Thanks Drew for your dedication to help protect our precious wetlands.

Posted on YOUTUBE by AmericanBirding

Fishing Boats Outside Barrier Islands Busy Soaking Up Oil

Even though this article refers to "SHRIMPERS" this is an Oyster Boat!

Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Derek W. Richburg/ U.S.Coast Guard

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Workers use improvised mops made of bamboo poles and absorbent pads to clean up oil in the marsh grass Saturday in Terrebonne Bay.

John DeSantis
Senior Staff Writer
COCODRIE — For the first full day in a week, crews on land and at sea scouted for and cleaned up oil Saturday, making what they said appeared to be solid progress against the Gulf spill in Terrebonne and Lafourche.

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“They are heroes,” Lafourche Parish government spokesman Brennan Matherne said of the shrimp boats, which operated around Timbalier Bay and adjacent waters. “I am hearing more and more how impressed the Coast Guard is with our fishermen and their efforts. Had it not been for their hard work and tremendous effort, we would have had much more of an impact.”
Terrebonne Parish, ground crews worked on barrier islands, where large swaths of medium-to-light consistency sheen left its mark on the beaches.
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No large patches of oil such as those seen earlier in the week were spotted heading into the barrier island passes.
“There was a big crew working on Timbalier Island today,” said Terrebonne Parish Public Safety Director Ralph Mitchell. READ MORE

Dolphins in a dying Gulf - Greenpeace USA

Greenpeace's team on the Gulf Coast has been taking independent scientists, media teams, and local grassroots organizations out into Barataria Bay, one of the areas hardest hit by the oil disaster, to help assess the full scope of this tragedy and the true cost of our reliance on fossil fuels.

Every day we have been out on the water here, we have been joined by dozens of dolphins, sometimes playing in the distance and sometimes swimming right alongside the Greenpeace boats.
Read Complete Story of - Dolphins in a dying Gulf - Greenpeace USA Blog