NBC NEWS — Oil spill birds

A new study is aiming to determine how many birds actually died as a result of last year's oil spill in the gulf.

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.