Arkansas bird deaths

My name is URL

http://www.eutimes.net/2011/01/top-us-official-murdered-after-arkansas-weapons-test-causes-mass-death/

Torakx

Interesting the only hint foxnews gave as to a possible reason is...

Wheeler and his wife, Katherine Klyce, filed a lawsuit in 2009 to prevent their neighbors from constructing a home that would have blocked their view, the News Journal reported.

This was the very last part of that report.And i see no other reason to mention this if they didnt think(or want us to think) it was relevant.
Especially as the final thought.

Not sure either if that KGB report is real either.
Was it leaked? and how many other sites are going with it i wonder.
Any more reputable ones have the same story?

caseyann

gizmo wrote: »

But how would chemtrails affect the birds in the air and the fish in the water but not other wildlife on the ground?

I have no idea

My name is URL

Torakx wrote: »

Interesting the only hint foxnews gave as to a possible reason is...



This was the very last part of that report.And i see no other reason to mention this if they didnt think(or want us to think) it was relevant.
Especially as the final thought.

Not sure either if that KGB report is real either.
Was it leaked? and how many other sites are going with it i wonder.
Any more reputable ones have the same story?

heh.. I'm not sure tbh. I only posted the link because I happened to come across it on my online adventures. I'm not sold on the idea that any of the animal deaths are connected in any way.. it's not a rarity for birds or fish to die en masse. I reckon it's just down to how news travels fast on the internet and in turn more likely to cause people to seek out patternicity.

gizmo

Torakx wrote: »

Not sure either if that KGB report is real either.
Was it leaked? and how many other sites are going with it i wonder.
Any more reputable ones have the same story?

Judging by the rubbish in the rest of the report and the fact that the site itself is a joke, I'd guess not unfortunately.

It also, of course, ignores the fact that similar phenomena occurred elsewhere in the world which kinda rules out the localised effects of the plane malfunction.

quasar2010

Saruman wrote: »

In CT spirit, I blame it on a successful Alien test attack.
Phase 1 is complete so we are phase 2 I guess....

You are not far wrong. I wouldn't be worried about Aliens though, the answer is much closer to home.
Depopulation, there just isn't enough oil and resources for us all, something has to give.

thecommander

quasar2010 wrote: »

Depopulation, there just isn't enough oil and resources for us all, something has to give.

God damn birds taking our petrol.

Dave!

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-01-05-arkansas-dead-birds-fireworks_N.htm

It wasn't a secret government spraying program, Martians or gas seeping out of the New Madrid fault that killed the 5,000 or so blackbirds that died New Year's Eve in Beebe, Ark.

It was someone shooting off professional grade fireworks in a residential district, scaring the night-blind birds out of their roost into a 25-mph flight that ran them into houses, signs and even the ground, says Karen Rowe, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission ornithologist.

"They were bouncing off houses, basketball backboards, trucks," she says.

Rowe made her observations Wednesday as Game and Fish officials got back further results from necropsies on the dead birds. The findings have given Rowe and others enough confidence in their original conclusions that they were having fun with some of the other theories floating about.

Separate bird deaths were also reported this week in Louisiana, where 450 died, and in Kentucky last week, where hundreds more were found dead.

LOUISIANA DEATHS: Louisiana has mass bird deaths just days after Arkansas
BIRD KILL: Trauma cited in mysterious Ark. bird kill

The not-so-mysterious saga began at about 10 p.m. New Year's Eve in the tiny town of Beebe, about 40 miles northeast of Little Rock.

"Someone shot off 10 to 12 professional-type fireworks near the roost," she says. Wayne Ballew, Beebe's chief of police, lives nearby. He reported that they "shook the windows on his house," she says.

Rowe has talked with residents who live in the neighborhood where the birds were found and they all reported the loud booms at that time.

At that point, the flock, which could easily numbers in the tens of thousands, took to the air.

It was actually composed of both red-winged blackbirds and European starlings, which commonly roost together.

Unfortunately for the birds, both blackbirds and starlings "have extremely limited night vision," says Robert Meese, an avian ecologist at the University of California-Davis who studies a related blackbird species.

In addition, neighbors were also setting off fireworks and bottle rockets, which further confused the birds who were now madly trying to get back to their safe perches, Rowe says.

"I talked to individuals who were outside when the birds started crashing into things," she says.After the birds took flight they would have been completely disoriented and flying at a high rate of speed, "most likely about 25 mph, given my experience with their cousins, the tricolored blackbird," Meese says.

They would have flown up into the air, then back down looking for a safe place to roost.

"This rapid descent of living birds crashing into these multiple obstacles then caused the loud noises reported by the residents of Beebe, especially those that flew into rooftops or walls of houses," Meese says. "This also accounts for the blunt force trauma to the breasts."

Perhaps most importantly, Meese says, the spatial distribution of the carcasses on the ground is what would be expected from a flock of blackbirds in flight, relatively close together and not scattered over many miles.

The necropsies performed by the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission found trauma to the chest, hemorrhages to the chest and the leading edge of the birds' wings broken, Rowe says.

"What seems like a deep mystery likely is not, and if this had occurred out in the middle of a wheat or corn field instead of in a suburban area, we'd probably never have been aware of it," Meese says.

State officials originally put the number of birds dead at around 3,000, but a more systematic count, and estimates of those taken by scavengers, puts it closer to 5,000, Rowe says.

The story of dead blackbirds raining down from the sky in a small Arkansas town, hitting as it did on a slow news week, caused a huge stir that still surprises state officials.

"I'm keeping a list of the most bizarre theories," Rowe says. So far they include:

• Aliens

• Noxious gases seeping out of the nearby New Madrid fault, cause of a massive earthquake in the area in 1812

• Sonic booms

• Fumes from a gas plant in Mississippi

• The government spraying poison over Beebe

And Meese adds these:

• Black helicopters (covert, unmarked military aircraft)

• Tornadoes

But it's taught Rowe that she and other wildlife experts need to do a better job of educating the public about the fact that wild animals die all the time. A bird that manages to hatch and leave the nest still has only a 70% chance of making it to its first birthday, she points out.

"Birds don't go to the bird hospital and get put on life support and die there. They just die. Mother Nature is not a nice lady," she says.

So fireworks startled the birds, and made them fly from their roost. They have bad night-vision, so they just smashed into trees, trucks, walls, roofs, and the ground, hence the signs of physical trauma.

Your crackpot theories are unsubstantiated and pathetic, and many of you should seek medical help.

sysconp1

Hmmm... And what makes the "USA Today" such an authority on this story? If proper journalism were afoot then perhaps they would have said that the reason for the bird deaths is as yet unknown, but then again perhaps that wouldn't be a story!

So far this year and bare in mind we aren't even through the first month, there have been 50+ unexplained mass bird/fish/insect deaths globally. This compares to 83 for the whole of 2010! This is unusual and certainly not caused by industrial grade fireworks!!

Whatever the reason for the deaths in Arkansas, it is clear to see that there have been many more stories that did not make the major press. So rather than dismissing other peoples thoughts Dave!, perhaps you should educate yourself on world events. Copying press stories neither helps or debunks the thoughts of others and perhaps it is you that needs to seek medical help and let others postulate on whatever reasons may have caused the mass deaths in the comfort of a forum of like minded individuals.

A more balanced view of the story can be found here:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/01/110106-birds-falling-from-sky-bird-deaths-arkansas-science/

http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2011/jan/05/what-led-arkansas-bird-fish-deaths-ar-351269/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40904491/ns/us_news-environment/

Perhaps the fish mentioned in the above stories were scared by the low flying fireworks, were they? What is for sure there have been many more mass deaths involving fish/birds along the New Madrid fault line area in recent weeks than in recent history. When this is put along side the increased seismic activity along the same area and the ground opening up in the forest just outside Arkansas it is clear to see nature is doing something. Simply keep an open mind and read a little more than "USA today" to fuel your knowledge and you may well learn something.

With the internet abound with wonderful stories and opportunities for every crackpot to get their stories heard, it is clear that we all need to carry out a degree of filtering on the information that we pickup and that includes the popular press.

gbee

First it was fireworks, now it's 'Professional' fireworks. Next it will be the SS Panzer Division from the Arden forest air-bursting HE shells over the forest ...

My name is URL

Dave! wrote: »

Your crackpot theories are unsubstantiated and pathetic, and many of you should seek medical help.

Wow.. I'm surprised that you'd stoop so low as to say that. I guess your ego makes you feel qualified to make such a judgement though :rolleyes:

espinolman

There is a radar image of something , it is on a video at www.aircrap.org .

profitius

Dave! wrote: »

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-01-05-arkansas-dead-birds-fireworks_N.htm

So fireworks startled the birds, and made them fly from their roost. They have bad night-vision, so they just smashed into trees, trucks, walls, roofs, and the ground, hence the signs of physical trauma.

Your crackpot theories are unsubstantiated and pathetic, and many of you should seek medical help.

Oh that must be correct because whenever theres fireworks theres always dead brids found the next day. :rolleyes:

alphabeat

now its octopi

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8438477.stm

alphabeat

Dave! wrote: »

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-01-05-arkansas-dead-birds-fireworks_N.htm



So fireworks startled the birds, and made them fly from their roost. They have bad night-vision, so they just smashed into trees, trucks, walls, roofs, and the ground, hence the signs of physical trauma.

Your crackpot theories are unsubstantiated and pathetic, and many of you should seek medical help.

not to bright then huh :rolleyes:

Dave!

sysconp1 wrote: »

Hmmm... And what makes the "USA Today" such an authority on this story? If proper journalism were afoot then perhaps they would have said that the reason for the bird deaths is as yet unknown, but then again perhaps that wouldn't be a story!

So far this year and bare in mind we aren't even through the first month, there have been 50+ unexplained mass bird/fish/insect deaths globally. This compares to 83 for the whole of 2010! This is unusual and certainly not caused by industrial grade fireworks!!

USA Today are just quoting the experts, they don't have to be an authority. And saying that the the bird deaths is 'unknown' or 'a mystery' is a rather good story -- hence why most news outlets have been making hay with it rather than giving the sober explanation :rolleyes:

Why would they say that the reason for the bird deaths is unknown, when it is in fact known? Fireworks set off, followed by reports of unusual thudding noises, and then the dead birds show evidence of blunt force trauma. Pretty straight-forward I would think, unless you're a mystery-monger. It's not a mystery to the ecologists, just the lay people.

As you said yourself, mass deaths are not unusual. There may be an increase in occurrences this year, I can't say I'm au fait with the statistics (feel free to post sources), I have no issue with that claim anyway. I was taking issue with some of the theories that others have posted in this thread, which are 'slightly' more outlandish than the idea that fireworks might startle birds. I'm glad that you point to a natural/environmental explanation in your post, as others have done, for example pointing to cold water stress to explain the death of 2 million fish in Chesapeake Bay.

sysconp1 wrote: »

Perhaps the fish mentioned in the above stories were scared by the low flying fireworks, were they?

No, the fish died on a different day to the birds, but it suits the mystery-monger agenda to report them together doesn't it? Birds and fish dying at the same time, plague of locusts to follow...

Tests (which could take up to 30 days) are currently being carried out on the fish, but it's believed by some to be a disease, since 99% were from the same species.

profitius wrote: »

Oh that must be correct because whenever theres fireworks theres always dead brids found the next day. :rolleyes:

No, not always, just sometimes