By Judy Keen, USA TODAY The piping plovers already are flying
toward peril. The endangered birds are among the first of
millions that will migrate this fall to the Gulf of Mexico — and
the oil leak that could kill them. Some birds, including the
common loon and lesser scaup, spend winters along the Gulf
Coast. Others, such as the blue-winged teal, use the Gulf as a
staging area where they stock up on food before flying to Latin
America. "There are millions of birds at risk," says Ken
Rosenberg, conservation science director at the Cornell Lab of
Ornithology. "It's safe to say thousands will die." He fears the
BP oil spill, which began April 20, "could erupt into a much
bigger disaster as oil continues to come to the surface."
Hundreds of birds have died, and some drawn to the Gulf by
migratory instincts will be affected starting this month, says
Paul Schmidt, assistant director for migratory birds at the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service. He says the agency's "biggest concern
is the long-term degradation of the