of the cleanup operation. gary tuchman has a report. reporter: deep into louisiana marshland, searching for pelicans struggling to survive, thousands of birds just in this one location, one small barrier island in the gulf of mexico. at any time, any one of these birds could plunge into the water to get a fish and ends up mired in oil. that s what this man is looking for. see a little opening in that grass? i think he s sitting right in there. reporter: we then see it, too, a baby seagull drenched in oil, barely moving. the gull is one of more than 600 visibly oiled birds that now have been rescued in louisiana since this oil disaster occurred and brought for cleaning and care to a center opened in plaquemines parish, louisiana. the bird we have spotted is being rescued by state wildlife workers. other birds are being rescued by federal wildlife workers.
opened in plaquemines parish. other birds are rescued by federal wildlife workers. however, there are many other bird experts and enthusiasts who want to participate in rescues, but are being told at this time they are not interested from help from outsiders. drew weeland says there are hundreds of people from other parts of the country experienced at dealing with birds covered with oil. i cannot see any reason why they would not want as many people here as possible. reporter: the humane society of the united states agrees. the president of the organization saying, we need more trained personnel on boats working in the gulf. and we need more boats deployed to search in a more systemic way for the animals in distress. but the louisiana department of wildlife and fisheries says we have the resources to handle the job at this time. the volunteers who have offered services simply need to be ready to respond when the call comes,
the cleanup effort. reporter: deep into louisiana marshland, searching for pelicans struggling to survive, thousands of birds just in this one location, one small barrier island in the gulf of mexico. at any time, every one of these birds could plunge into the water to get a fish and ends up mired in oil. that s what this man is looking for. see a little opening in that grass? i think he s sitting right in there. reporter: we then see it, too, a baby seagull drenched in oil, barely moving. the gull is one of more than 600 since this oil disaster occurred, brought to cleaning and care at a center opened in plaquemines parish, louisiana. being rescued by state and wildlife workers. other burrs are rescued by federal wildlife workers.
expediently as possible to stop the flow. reporter: meanwhile, byproduct is balls of tarp washed up by the residue. they re washing up in the size of pancakes and others have circumference of a nickel. significant amount of oil washing up on a louisiana island used as a bird sanctuary. wildlife workers rescued a state pelican that was coated with oil. but the fear is there will be more endangered animals and they won t receive the same medical attention. there is good news tonight. authorities say they believe most of the oil is largely offshore. and that is where they want to keep it. they are using containment booms and chemicals to try to clean up the oil, but there is still a great deal of uncertainty tonight how much oil is actually out there and when if ever will it all be cleaned up. shannon? shannon: david lee miller, thank you. the president said there is
expediently as possible to stop the flow. reporter: meanwhile, byproduct is balls of tarp washed up by the residue. they re washing up in the size of pancakes and others have circumference of a nickel. significant amount of oil washing up on a louisiana island used as a bird sanctuary. wildlife workers rescued a state pelican that was coated with oil. but the fear is there will be more endangered animals and they won t receive the same medical attention. there is good news tonight. authorities say they believe most of the oil is largely offshore. and that is where they want to keep it. they are using containment booms and chemicals to try to clean up the oil, but there is still a great deal of uncertainty tonight how much oil is actually out there and when if ever will it all be cleaned up. shannon? shannon: david lee miller, thank you. the president said there is