Oil leaking from the container ship, Rena, stranded on the Astrolabe Reef is responsible for the deaths of about 1000 birds since it ran aground 10 days ago.

Wildlife Response Centre manager Kerri Morgan says at the start of today there were 901 bird carcases at the Te Maunga facility and by now she estimates there to be about 1000.

A bird found dead on Mount Maunganui Beach this week.

The birds have died as a result of ingesting the oil or being trapped in it on the water.

There are 20-30 species of birds among the dead with the majority of them sea-based.

The Wildlife Response Centre also has about 100 live birds, including some penguins, workers there are treating for oiling.

The dead birds are being labelled with the time, date and location of their discovery.

Some are being examined by a pathologist to check that the cause of death is oil related.

Kerri says a main concern for the wildlife response team is the protection of the New Zealand dotterel species.

There are only about 1700 in the world and about 100 of these are estimated to be in the Bay of Plenty sub-region impacted by the oil slick.

The team is undertaking pre-emptive capture of these birds and has called in experts to help in this programme.

'We are getting them out of the wild and away from the oil.”

The team has captured 23 so far and is aiming to capture 60, with them all housed in individual aviaries, which are pest-proofed and supervised by a husbandry specialist.

'We are being proactive and are hoping to prevent these birds being oiled.”

Maritime New Zealand national on scene commander Nick Quinn says counselling services are being established for the Wildlife Response Centre workers.