Nearly 2,000 dead birds fall from sky

BEEBE, Ark. — Environmental service workers finished picking up the carcasses on Sunday of about 2,000 red-winged blackbirds that fell dead from the sky in a central Arkansas town.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/0 ... 03358.html


...this is just a test.

Regardless of the true cause, you know that some commercial enterprise is going to get blamed. This is not a unique event, yes it may be a case of poisoning, but it may also be a naturally occurring event.




Contrails? Death Ray?

Gastrointestinal results of a local burrito eating contest?

And fish were dying too. Wierd. I like the lightning idea but I never see that many blackbirds together.

Hail or strong wind (microburst). They mention trauma to birds which was prolly other than the impact to ground. There were tornados in ARk this weekend as well.

The picture that went with the article is impressive. I did not think that blackbirds flocked like that.

SS109, Wher did it mention fish?

I think this is a case of Instant Freeze Dried Birds - as Photo-Fish noted...the weather in Arkansas on Friday night was transitioning. I could see a strong cold (-20) down draft freezing the birds instantly. Global cooling?

Anyone notice how the G&F whacks jobs speculated that fireworks by human could be the blame. Dumb@$$ in government.

100,000 Drum fish died on the Arkansas River around the same time, [url=http://www.todaysthv.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;]www.todaysthv.com[/url].
People wanted to blame a oxygen kill or poisoning, but why only one type of bird and fish? Most explanations would have also killed other species. The dead birds are being sent to labs all over the nation for inspection to see if anyone can figure it out.

Minor point but these appear to be Tricolored Blackbirds and not Red Wing Blackbirds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tricolored_Blackbird

From the Wiki link

This highly social and gregarious bird forms the largest colonies of any North American landbird, with a single breeding colony often consisting of tens of thousands of birds.

First Birds Fall, Now 100,000 Fish Dead in Arkansas
http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/03/first ... 3%7C193294

"Andrew Goodwin, the associate director of the University of Arkansas' Aquaculture and Fisheries Center, said he didn't believe the deaths were caused by pollutants. "It's unlikely to be a toxin," Goodwin told AOL News by phone today."

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/03/


Yeah...that's their story and they're sticking to it!