Just how did scientists figure out how many birds died from the oil spills that resulted from the New Carissa grounding five years ago? They estimate 2,358 died. They collected slightly more than 1,100 bodies.

Dead birds weren't the only effect, but they were a tangible, visible aspect scientists could easily quantify. Researchers lucked out, since winter ocean currents and winds washed many of the carcasses ashore, said Senior Biologist Larry Mangan. He is coordinating the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's scientific input on the damage caused by the shipwreck.

Scientifically, biologists know which species winter off the Oregon Coast. They charted the oil spill movements, calculated how many birds likely would have been impacted. Here are selected species representing the majority of the birds that died: 272 Cassin's auklets, 262 marbled murrelets, 251 rhinoceros auklets, 213 surf scoters, 178 northern fulmars, 159 Brandt's cormorants, 134 common murres, 103 white-winged scoters, 117 black-legged kittiwakes, 82 western grebes, 62 western gulls and 58 horned puffins.