Oil spill imperils Sask. birds' winter home

Migratory birds, including species common to Saskatchewan, could feel the impact of the oil leak disaster thousands of kilometres away in the Gulf of Mexico.

Oil from theDeepwater Horizondrilling site is threatening the winter nesting groundsof many birds, experts say.

"Most of the waterfowl we see here resident and breeding in Saskatchewan do winter in the southern U.S., including Louisiana," says Brian Hepworth, a biologist with theRegina office of conservation-minded group Ducks Unlimited.

"So the birds that we're seeing here right now obviously aren't impacted by the oil spill," Hepworth told CBC News on Friday. "However, when they return south this winter there are potential impacts for them."

Hepworth said millions of million birds spend their winters in habitats along the Mississippi Delta.

Oil from the leak has reached several barrier islands off Louisiana,officials have confirmed, and traces of oily sheen havebeen reported in the state's coastal wetlands.