Mystery of Falling Birds?

[Sarah G]

(CNN) -- Arkansas game officials hope testing scheduled to begin Monday will solve the mystery of why up to 5,000 birds fell from the sky just before midnight New Year's Eve.

The birds -- most of which were dead -- were red-winged blackbirds and starlings, and they were found within a one-mile area of Beebe, about 40 miles northeast of Little Rock, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said. Birds fell over about a one-mile area, the commission said in a statement.

As of Saturday, between 4,000 and 5,000 birds had been found dead, said Keith Stephens with the commission.

"Shortly after I arrived, there were still birds falling from the sky," said commission wildlife officer Robby King in the statement. He said he collected about 65 dead birds.

Arkansas game officials probe mystery of falling birds - CNN.com

Global warming? Is the end near? You decide.

 

[mudwhistle]

I think they dropped dead from witnessing the mess Obama has made of the economy. Just looking at the debt alone would make one drop dead.

 

[daveman]

Chemtrails.

 

[Article 15]

I think they dropped dead from witnessing the mess Obama has made of the economy. Just looking at the debt alone would make one drop dead.

You might very well be the most delusional poster on the board.

 

[mudwhistle]

I think they dropped dead from witnessing the mess Obama has made of the economy. Just looking at the debt alone would make one drop dead.

You might very well be the most delusional poster on the board.

That's a lie...but it wouldn't be the first.

Truthmatters holds the title.

 

[Article 15]

I think they dropped dead from witnessing the mess Obama has made of the economy. Just looking at the debt alone would make one drop dead.

You might very well be the most delusional poster on the board.

That's a lie...but it wouldn't be the first.

Truthmatters holds the title.

Then you are runnin' a close second.

 

[mudwhistle]

You might very well be the most delusional poster on the board.

That's a lie...but it wouldn't be the first.

Truthmatters holds the title.

Then you are runnin' a close second.

Not even. But thanks for the admission.

 

[strollingbones]

suspected hail storms or a lightening strike...will be interesting to see what the science people say....

 

[goldcatt]

(CNN) -- Arkansas game officials hope testing scheduled to begin Monday will solve the mystery of why up to 5,000 birds fell from the sky just before midnight New Year's Eve.

The birds -- most of which were dead -- were red-winged blackbirds and starlings, and they were found within a one-mile area of Beebe, about 40 miles northeast of Little Rock, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said. Birds fell over about a one-mile area, the commission said in a statement.

As of Saturday, between 4,000 and 5,000 birds had been found dead, said Keith Stephens with the commission.

"Shortly after I arrived, there were still birds falling from the sky," said commission wildlife officer Robby King in the statement. He said he collected about 65 dead birds.

Arkansas game officials probe mystery of falling birds - CNN.com

Global warming? Is the end near? You decide.

I wonder if it's related to the fish kill near Ozark.

 

[strollingbones]

red winged blackbirds and starlings will eat about anything

 

[Ernie S.]

Those mean nasty republicans caused all those poor black birds to starve to death.

 

[Sallow]

Sounds plausible:

Officials also speculated that fireworks shot by New Year's revelers in the area might have caused severe stress in the birds. Rowe said Sunday there was evidence that large fireworks may have played a role.

"Initial examinations of a few of the dead birds showed trauma. Whether or not this trauma was from the force of hitting the ground when they fell or from something that contacted them in the air, we don't know," Rowe said.

But it could also be the many lights in cities confused the heck out of them and they died of exhaustion.

 

[editec]

(CNN) -- Arkansas game officials hope testing scheduled to begin Monday will solve the mystery of why up to 5,000 birds fell from the sky just before midnight New Year's Eve.

The birds -- most of which were dead -- were red-winged blackbirds and starlings, and they were found within a one-mile area of Beebe, about 40 miles northeast of Little Rock, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said. Birds fell over about a one-mile area, the commission said in a statement.

As of Saturday, between 4,000 and 5,000 birds had been found dead, said Keith Stephens with the commission.

"Shortly after I arrived, there were still birds falling from the sky," said commission wildlife officer Robby King in the statement. He said he collected about 65 dead birds.

Arkansas game officials probe mystery of falling birds - CNN.com

Global warming? Is the end near? You decide.

That is troubling.

Not a clue what the problem is, of course, but I do note this:

Birds have lungs which make them very suseptable to polluted air.

AT first blush, birds falling out of the sky by the thousands might be the result of some localized pollution.

OTOH, they might have been winging south and possibly having missed a feeding. They'd still try to fly south but they'd starve on the way and while on the wing.

Otherwise?

Well that's what the autopsy will tell us.

Autopsies are in order to see what actually killed them

If they died from the traumua of falling then they probably missed a feeding along the migration and just ran out of steam and dropped to their deaths.

 

[Mini 14]

Sounds plausible:

Officials also speculated that fireworks shot by New Year's revelers in the area might have caused severe stress in the birds. Rowe said Sunday there was evidence that large fireworks may have played a role.

"Initial examinations of a few of the dead birds showed trauma. Whether or not this trauma was from the force of hitting the ground when they fell or from something that contacted them in the air, we don't know," Rowe said.

But it could also be the many lights in cities confused the heck out of them and they died of exhaustion.

Yeah.

In Arkansas.

 

[Sallow]

Sounds plausible:

Officials also speculated that fireworks shot by New Year's revelers in the area might have caused severe stress in the birds. Rowe said Sunday there was evidence that large fireworks may have played a role.

"Initial examinations of a few of the dead birds showed trauma. Whether or not this trauma was from the force of hitting the ground when they fell or from something that contacted them in the air, we don't know," Rowe said.

But it could also be the many lights in cities confused the heck out of them and they died of exhaustion.

Yeah.

In Arkansas.

Arkansas doesn't have cities?

The things you learn here.

 

[Old Rocks]

The fact that there is a huge fish kill in a body of water in the area creates a very troubling possibility. What kind of poison could do that kind of damage both in the water and air?

 

[goldcatt]

The fact that there is a huge fish kill in a body of water in the area creates a very troubling possibility. What kind of poison could do that kind of damage both in the water and air?

Or potentially to birds who fed on the fish....which was more what I was thinking. The Ozark area isn't all that far from where this happened, certainly not too far for a flock to travel before it would hit them. Although I've never heard of a red wing blackbird eating fish, now that I think about it. Aquatic insects from the area, perhaps?

 

[goldcatt]

Here's a thought, I'll just throw it out there.

AR Geological Survey map of gas wells on the Fayetteville Shale:

Fayetteville Shale Gas Play

Note the line of the Arkansas River, marking the line between Crawford and Sebastian Counties on the western border, then disappearing as it crosses central Franklin County (where both Ozark and presumably the cause of the fish kill are located) and continuing as the line between Johnson and Logan Counties to the East of Franklin County. Here's another map showing where it runs:

Franklin County Arkansas Map

While the majority of gas drilling has taken place to the east, there are several wells in the immediate vicinity of the Arkansas in Franklin County.

I'm not much of an oil and gas person, but I know of some of the problems with contamination poorly or incorrectly drilled wells have caused in the past in local portions of the Marcellus. Would a botched gas well potentially have this kind of effect on wildlife?

 

[Skull Pilot]

Let's see Arkansas

Has anyone considered that a bunch of rednecks all fired their guns into the air to celebrate new year?

 

[Valerie]

Let's see Arkansas

Has anyone considered that a bunch of rednecks all fired their guns into the air to celebrate new year?