Birds and oil do not mix.

No one in the world understands that better than UC Davis wildlife veterinary scientists. When a Nov. 7 ship accident spilled a reported 58,000 gallons of heavy bunker oil into San Francisco Bay, the UC Davis spill response team was called into action.

At Dateline press time, 20 UC Davis veterinary faculty and staff, with hundreds of volunteers, were treating more than 800 oiled seabirds. The response team offers the world's most advanced veterinary care for oiled wildlife.

It is led by Michael Ziccardi, UC Davis associate professor of veterinary medicine; Greg Massey, UC Davis spill response veterinarian; and Jay Holcomb, director of the International Bird Rescue Research Center in Fairfield, which is UC Davis' partner in treating oiled birds.