A learning experience, on a few levels

The oil team was invited to take a ride out to the 'lightering' station on the DelRiver Bay vessel. This is a unit that responds and physically cleans up the oil off the water. They also supervise major oil tankers when they unload oil at the 'lightering' station out at the mouth of the bay. The lightering station, is exactly what it sounds like. Tankers come in and lighten their loads at different stations, distributing their load all over the world. This trip worked out very well for us. It happened that we had 2 Northern Gannets to release from the clinic, and their colony is right out near this lightering station. OK so we have 4 people, 2 Gannets and a 2 hour drive. Guess who got picked to drive. Yep...me. So we loaded the birds in Quita at 6am and off we went.

We arrived on time and checked on the birds. Lesson #1 is learned. When loading birds don't put them in head first. That leaves their butts towards the opening. You catch my drift? As you can see their are pillow cases over the doors to reduce stress on the birds. It also cuts down on mess when birds are positioned as such. Lesson #2 learned. Gannets are tricky. Their aim is incredible! So as i opened the trunk i viewed the mess all over the back of my car. Thankfully i put a sheet down in case such mess was to occur. Phew, dodged that bullet. Lesson #3 learned. I put 2 and 2 together. "wow they can really poop far...wow it must have hit the door" (I slowly peer skyward at the hatch of my car directly over my head) This next moment happened in slow motion. The hatch was COVERED in poop about to DRIP ON MY HEAD. I practically stopped dropped and rolled. Thankfully i made it out of the way in time for the poop to drip all over the ground. Phew. Ok moving on...

Coming up on the oil tanker. The lightering station is behind it...

It's a Greek tanker coming from South Africa. The Olympic faith.

It's hard to tell but the smaller entity on the right is the lightering station. After we cirlced the tanker they were nice to turn off the engines and we literally dropped the Gannets into the water. Sorry no pics of that. I was to busy trying not to lose and eye throwing the bird into the water. :) So yea....it was a learning experience on all sorts of levels.