From the Baton Rouge Advocate:
LABARRE — Hundreds of dead and dying birds littered a quarter-mile stretch of highway in Pointe Coupee Parish on Monday as motorists drove over and around them.
State biologists are trying to determine what led to the deaths of the estimated 500 red-winged blackbirds and starlings on La. 1 just down the road from Pointe Coupee Central High School.
The discovery of the dead birds — some of which were lying face down, clumped in groups, while others were face up with their wings outstretched and rigid legs pointing upward — comes just three days after more than 3,000 blackbirds rained down from the sky in Beebe, Ark.
Necropsies performed Monday on the birds in Arkansas showed the birds suffered internal injuries that formed blood clots leading to their deaths, The Associated Press reported.
Poor birdies. Tom and I thought it might have been due to the extended cold weather or not enough food, although the deaths were sudden and in large numbers, so we are probably wrong.
The area where the dead birds were found is not far from our little farm, where Tom grew up.
More thoughts and theories on why the birds died at:
The Baton Rouge Advocate
The Huffington Post
Thanks to Ann V. for the link to HP.
Ughhhh. This is really more than just disturbing. Once might be a weird act of nature --such as cold, hail, or cruel act of people... but twice... like this...
ReplyDeleteIt's just all wrong.
This scares the hell out of me.
ReplyDeleteThis is how scifi/horror films begin.
Are fireworks being blamed here, too?
ReplyDeleteWe'll have to wait for the results of the tests on the birds.
ReplyDeleteJCF, fireworks didn't cause the deaths, but I know where you're coming from. :-)
Scary stuff. I love redwing blackbirds, and the "conk-er-ee" call of the males when they display. Birds do not just fall out of the sky. The Evil Parrot is a scrappy survivor and would sneer at most challenges. of course, parrots and corvids (crows) are very intelligent, and most passerines (perching birds) are behind in the brains department, but still...
ReplyDeleteone thinks canary, coalmine.
Exactly the sort of thing I was thinking, IT.
ReplyDeleteGulf of Mexico, oil gusher, deadly underground gases?
Okay.... this is getting really creepy.... I hope there is a good explanation for these mysterious deaths!
ReplyDeletePoor birdies, indeed :-(
ReplyDeleteI have no idea of the cause, amongst which fireworks, power lines, toxins, pesticides, sickness, cold weather, etc. are mentioned. I do fear that we are doing terrible damage to God's wonderful creation, much that we are not even aware of. Therefore, when I hear of large numbers of birds and fish dying, I can't help but think of the analogy of the canary in the coal mine.
ReplyDeleteThis is simply awful and rather scary to boot. Am I the only one who thinks one of the dumbest remarks made by wildlife experts about these poor beauties is that they all exhibit signs of trauma? (One person commented that it was as if they had hit something hard.) Well, duh! Of course they do and of course they have. They have all just smacked into the ground from considerable altitude. But, what caused them to do that?
ReplyDeletewv: ackshel
Southern term for actual.
As in what is the ackshel cause of their death.
We all knew of colony collapse among the honeybees but now it is happening to the overwhelming majority of bumblebees too. Without pollination, my friends, surviving is going to get uglier.
ReplyDeleteWithout pollination the world cannot survive, so I hope it doesn't come to that :-(
ReplyDeletePollination can be done by Chinese peasants. Happens all the time. Hey, it's a job creator.
ReplyDeleteHonest to God, I think it's alien ships. And they may be responsible for the bee thing too.