Seabirds Covered in Sticky Substance Wash up in UK Animal protection groups in Britain say they are trying to rescue more than 100 seabirds that have washed up on the coast covered in an unidentified sticky substance. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds says a team is cleaning up the guillemots, but the effort is hampered because it's unclear what the white substance is. It is urging the government to find the pollution source. Many of the birds were found near Weymouth in the south of England on Thursday. Others appeared up to 200 miles (322 kilometers) away in Cornwall in the southwest, and more are expected to wash up overnight. Peter Venn, an official with the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals, says the sticky substance is not fuel but could be a manufacturing by-product.