New study looks at how many birds died in BP oil spill - WLTZ 38 | Columbus Georgia Regional News & Community

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During last year's oil spill in the Gulf, we saw many images of wildlife covered in oil. Now a new study wants to know how many birds actually died as a result.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is conducting the inquiry, which is being funded by BP. According to the Mobile Press-Register Newspaper, the Carcass Drift Study" will help researchers determine how many dead birds may have floated out to sea without reaching the shore.

Since mid-July, officials have dropped nearly 250 bird carcasses and about 65 fake carcasses into the Gulf to track their paths.

They hope to combine their findings with other studies to estimate the total number of birds killed by the disaster.