As the oil spill cleanup continues, efforts to protect wildlife along  the river banks are moving into high gear.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists are using noisemakers like these starter's pistols in an attempt to scare wildlife out of the affected areas.

WWL-TV

A bird is cleaned of oil.

So far, they've spotted about 130 birds covered with varying amounts of oil that shows in brown patches on white feathers.

"They're wading around in there, they're getting their legs, bellies and breasts oiled from wading around," said Peter Tuttle of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

The concern is even light amounts of oil can ultimately be deadly.

"When they clean they feathers, they take in oil,’ said U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service biologist Kenneth Rice. “It's ingested, and it goes down the intestine lining, and the stomach lining, and they can't take in the nutrients that they need for food."

The biologists are deploying 100 propane cannons along the river bank, hoping the noise will keep birds and other animals away.

The biologists know the birds are difficult to catch until they are so weak it becomes a race against time to save them.

"It is very discouraging, and as long as the birds are able to fly, it is pretty much impossible to catch them, and it is not until they've ingested enough that they become weak that we can catch them and take them to rehab,” said Clare Lee, a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service biologist.

Oil affected animals are brought to Venice to be cleaned up in a delicate operation run by the Houston-based Wildlife Rehab Response Team. They cleaned the first two animals today, a dove nicknamed Lonesome Dove, and a turtle. The experts carefully used dishwashing detergent and warm water to clean them as gently but quickly as possible.

"They're very stressed, because they are wild animals, and it is not like a dog and cat that wants you to hold it and comfort it,” said Sharon Schmalz of the Wildlife Rehab Response Team. “They are wild, and they want you to leave them alone, so we try to work as rapidly as we can."

The Fish and Wildlife Service has set up the propane cannons along a ten-mile stretch of river. But the biologists are very concerned about one thing. They want people to stay far away from them.

"We would like people to stay back 500 feet," said Tuttle.

The biologists say that while the danger to wildlife will diminish in a few weeks, it could be months or even a year before all traces of the oil spill disappear.