‘It is there pretty much forever’: Huntington Beach oil spill may permanently affect birds

Spill off California coast will be difficult to clear from areas that are home to diverse array of birds and endangered plants and animals

The full scale of the ecological damage from the Huntington Beach oil spill will take some time to become clear, with birds and marine mammals hardest hit in the short term.

That's the view of experts with experience of other incidents as they consider a suspected underwater pipe leak that spilled roughly 126,000 gallons of crude oil just miles off the southern Californian coast.