More and More Birds Fall From Sky

[Terry Suchma]

Dear Birding Friends,

In the last two weeks, I believe I have read three stories involving the death of many birds. First, there was Austin, TX, then, I read about somewhere else. Today, it is Australia.

Here is the Australia story:

http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5931920&nav=1TjD

Here is the Austin, TX story:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070108/ap_on_re_us/austin_shutdown

Recent kills


At least two other incidents involving a large quantity of dead birds have taken place in urban areas since the summer:

•September: Pigeons began nose-diving and dying on downtown Texarkana sidewalks, marring a festival. The birds had eaten poisoned corn from the roof of a nearby bank.

•July: Emergency workers in Schenectady, N.Y., spent hours collecting dead birds after pesticide was used to get rid of pigeons on a hospital roof; the emergency room had to be closed.

[Terry Suchma]

Here is one reason that accounts for massive bird kills.

Deaths of Birds in Mesquite Attributed to Approved Pest Control (http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=5958883&nav=9qrx)

But, how do they know they are only killing the targeted birds?

Terry

[Terry Suchma]

Dear Birding Friends,

Here is what TX A&M had to say about the many bird deaths in Austin a short while back:

http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=5960067&nav=0s3dVAJi

Terry

[Terry Suchma]

Dear Birding Friends,

Here is a follow-up article on the deaths of many birds in Australia. Seems some of the birds were swallows, Tree Swallows, and adverse weather conditions prevailed at the time of the massive bird die-off.

Concern growing as 200 more birds die mysteriouslyBy Tony Barrass
January 18, 2007 02:00am

AUTHORITIES in Western Australia are again baffled by the unexplained deaths of more than 200 birds in a small farming community.

It follows the mysterious deaths of an estimated 4000 native birds at Esperance on the state's south coast in a phenomenon that has sparked worldwide scientific attention.

Read more here:

More on Aussie Bird Deaths (http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21076317-2,00.html)

Terry

[Terry Suchma]

Birds' deaths due to natural causes

From United Press International as viewed on LiveScience website

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Avian pathologists have determined that the deaths of 63 birds in downtown Austin, Texas, this month were the result of natural causes.

To read more, click here: Birds' deaths due to natural causes (http://www.sciencedaily.com/upi/index.php?feed=Science&article=UPI-1-20070119-13334000-bc-us-birddeaths.xml)

[Terry Suchma]

Birds fell out of the sky as a whole town was poisoned by lead dust

By Kathy Marks in Sydney

Published: 05 April 2007

A followup from news articles in December, 2006

A strange silence was the first clue that something was wrong. The dawn chorus that usually woke residents of the picturesque coastal town of Esperance, in Western Australia, had stopped. Then birds began falling out of the sky.


Local people were alarmed when they came across dead lorikeets, wattlebirds, honeyeaters and silvereyes in their parks and back yards. Health officials told them not to worry. But they tested their rainwater tanks, the main source of drinking water, and found dangerously high levels of lead or nickel in more than a third.


The authorities still insisted there was no cause for concern. Then they tested the seabed at the Esperance port, through which nickel and lead carbonate mined inland are shipped to Asia. Some samples contained 130 times the recommended health levels of the two metals. It was also established that 4,000 birds had died of lead poisoning.


For more here: http://news.independent.co.uk/world/australasia/article2422658.ece

Terry