Birmingham Audubon Society

Oil and Bird Feathers Don't Mix

The Gulf Oil Spill has been on everyone's mind. Now that the cap is in place preventing the oil from continuously emptying into the ocean, there may be years of clean up as oil washes onto the shore and into the marshes. Many people are working hard to clean up the oil. Unfortunately, as birds dive into the water to catch fish, they go through the oil on the surface. When the oil covers the birds' feathers, they cannot dry out and the bird becomes "waterlogged." To gain a better understanding of the structure of a feather and how the oil affects it, do the experiment below.

Materials:

Take the magnifying glass and look at the feather. Notice the main shaft of the feather. This is the central part of the feather made of keratin, just like your hair or fingernails. The end of the feather, that goes into the skin of the bird, is called the calumus. The vanes on both sides of the shaft consist of parallel barbs that hook together. Barbules branch off of the barb and have tiny hooks, like Velcro. When a bird preens its feathers, like combing your hair, the bird uses its beak and runs it from the bottom of the shaft to the tip of the feather. Use your thumb and forefinger to run along the feather the opposite direction as the bird, from the tip to the end of the shaft, separating the barbs. Using the magnifying glass, can you see the barbules? Now run your fingers from the shaft to the tip, the same direction a bird would preen. What has happened to the feather? Did the barbules "zip" together?

Pour some water into the bowl. Dip the feather into the water and look at it with the magnifying glass. What do you see? Run your fingers along the shaft to separate the bars? What does it look like now? After examining the wet bars and barbules, run your finger along the feather from the end of the shaft to the tip of the feather. Did the barbules hook together again?

Now add 10 drops of vegetable oil to the water. What do you notice about the oil? Dip the feather into the oil. Look at the feather with the magnifying glass. Separate the barbs and look at them. "Zip" the barbules together and examine it. How does the feather oil feather compare to the water feather and the dry feather. Will it function properly, protecting the bird from temperature and water? Will it allow the bird to fly?

Now let's clean the feather, just like volunteers are cleaning the birds along the Gulf. Go to the sink and put a little detergent on it but be gentle as you clean. You do not want to damage or break the feather. After cleaning the feather, examine it with the magnifying glass. How does it compare to the other three stages, dry, wet, and oil? Does the cleaning work?

We are looking for artists and writers:

Do you have any suggestions as to what you would like to read about in Kid's Corner? Send your ideas to:



Birmingham Audubon Society
Attn: Kids Corner
P.O. Box 314
Birmingham, AL 35201

Send us your pictures, journal pages, stories and poems about birds, nature, wildlife, etc.
If selected, your original work will be published in the Flicker Flashes newsletter.

Bird Journal
Birding Basics
Broad-winged Hawk
Carolina Wren
Great Blue Heron
Hooded Mergansers
Monarch Butterflies
Oil and Bird Feathers Don't Mix
Owls
Summer Birding Activity
Swallow-tailed Kite
Valentine for Birds
Water Fowl

Links to online educational games:

Bird Migration Game

Student takes a quiz about migration. Each correct answer helps the bird reach its destination.

Mission: Migration Game

Student chooses a flock of birds to help migration through man-made and natural situations. Through this game you will see how your everyday choices can affect the migration of birds.

Great Lakes Kids Migration Game

This is an online board game for up to four players. Each player chooses a bird and then the computer rolls the die and moves the "bird icons" for you. The screen will tell you which card to take for additional moves. This game moves a little slow.

Eagle Eye

This game allows you to test your observation skills. The object of the game is to find the small differences in each pair of photos.