Re: [cayugabirds-l] 5000 blackbirds and starlings fall from the sky!
Greetings birders,
This kill has all the signs of an aggregation event caused by artificial
lighting emanating from the residential area where the kill was found. Whatever
flushed the birds (fireworks, cannons or lightning), once they were in the air
it is likely that the easiest cue for orientation was the lights of the nearest
residential area. The birds would tend to stay in that lighted airspace instead
flying into the darkness with no orientation cues, and I guess a dense
aggregation with mixed-direction flight occurred and led to lots of midair
collisions. There were no dead birds reported from the site where the birds had
been roosting and it is likely that the kill wouldn't have occurred (or would
have been much smaller) if there were no lights in the vicinity of the roost.
The cloud ceiling was 100% overcast and the refraction of light off the bottom
of the could ceiling may have contributed to creating a distinctly lighted
airspace that birds concentrated within.
The reported internal hemorraghing found in the salvaged carcasses could be
partly from the midair collisions but more likely from falling bird impacts
with the ground. I was out at the 850-ft Elmira TV tower one night a decade
ago with two Cornell students while disoriented warblers were striking the
tower's guy wires (or other birds) and falling to the TV station parking lot
below. I distinctly remember the loud smack sound on the pavement within a few
feet of us of a Red-eyed Vireo and a Black-throated Green Warbler. Small birds
falling to the ground from 500+ ft in the air really hit the ground with quite
a bit of force.
Bill E
- Original Message -
From: Regi Teasley
To: cayugabird...@cornell.e
Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2011 10:37 AM
Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] 5000 blackbirds and starlings fall from the sky!
Regarding the blackbirds killed.
There was a brief story about this on NPR. The fish and game fellow said he
didn't think it was a storm after all. He was coming to think it was fireworks
("cannons") celebrating New Year's Eve that frightened the roosting birds.
Apparently, when they flew at night in their fear, they crashed into things.
Their injuries were "blunt force" injuries.
If so, once again humans blithely blunder around destroying nature in
the process. Pathetic. Change is in order.
Regi
At 09:08 PM 1/3/2011, you wrote:
Yes, I read about this on Sat.. I get the local, world & national news from
various newspaper sources on my computer. I found it interesting but didn't
know if it would be acceptable to post so didn't. Today about 500 dead birds,
starlings, grackles & blackbirds were found outside New Roads, AL.
Fritzie Blizzard
Stephanie Greenwood wrote on Monday, January 03, 2011 8:27 PM
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] 5000 blackbirds and starlings fall from the sky!
I was just shocked when a friend I met for dinner this evening told me
about this story. Have any of you heard about this?
--
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Please submit your observations to eBird:
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--
Re: [cayugabirds-l] 5000 blackbirds and starlings fall from the sky!
Regarding the blackbirds killed.
There was a brief story about this on NPR. The fish and game
fellow said he didn't think it was a storm after all. He was coming
to think it was fireworks ("cannons") celebrating New Year's Eve that
frightened the roosting birds. Apparently, when they flew at night
in their fear, they crashed into things. Their injuries were "blunt
force" injuries.
If so, once again humans blithely blunder around destroying
nature in the process. Pathetic. Change is in order.
Regi
At 09:08 PM 1/3/2011, you wrote:
>Yes, I read about this on Sat.. I get the local, world & national
>news from various newspaper sources on my computer. I found it
>interesting but didn't know if it would be acceptable to post so
>didn't. Today about 500 dead birds, starlings, grackles & blackbirds
>were found outside New Roads, AL.
>
>Fritzie Blizzard
>
>
><mailto:stgreenw...@ev.ithaca.ny.us>Stephanie Greenwood wrote
>on Monday, January 03, 2011 8:27 PM
>
>
>Subject: [cayugabirds-l] 5000 blackbirds and starlings fall from the sky!
>
>I was just shocked when a friend I met for dinner this evening told
>me about this story. Have any of you heard about this?
--
Cayugabirds-L List Info:
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES
ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html
3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds
Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
--
[cayugabirds-l] 5000 blackbirds and starlings fall from the sky!
Yes, I read about this on Sat.. I get the local, world & national news from various newspaper sources on my computer. I found it interesting but didn't know if it would be acceptable to post so didn't. Today about 500 dead birds, starlings, grackles & blackbirds were found outside New Roads, AL. Fritzie Blizzard Stephanie Greenwood wrote on Monday, January 03, 2011 8:27 PM Subject: [cayugabirds-l] 5000 blackbirds and starlings fall from the sky! I was just shocked when a friend I met for dinner this evening told me about this story. Have any of you heard about this? -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
[cayugabirds-l] 5000 blackbirds and starlings fall from the sky!
I was just shocked when a friend I met for dinner this evening told me about this story. Have any of you heard about this? What I found even more shocking was the ornithologist from the Game and Fish commission saying 'the incident is not that unusual'. First I've heard of such a thing. I looked up the story on CNN and have copied it below. Stephanie *(CNN)* -- The thousands of birds that fell from the sky just before midnight New Year's Eve in Arkansas likely died from massive trauma, according to a preliminary report released Monday. The birds -- most of which were dead when they were found -- 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. Keith Stephens, a spokesman for the commission, said the birds showed evidence of trauma in the breast tissue, with blood clots in the body cavity and a lot of internal bleeding. All major organs were normal. He cited a preliminary report conducted by the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission. "Further tests will be done to rule out other causes, but the birds suffered from acute physical trauma leading to internal hemorrhage and death. There was no sign of any chronic or infectious disease," the report said, according to the game and fish commission. As of Saturday, between 4,000 and 5,000 birds had been found dead, said Stephens. Karen Rowe, an ornithologist for the game and fish commission, said the incident is not that unusual and is often caused by a lightning strike or high-altitude hail. A strong storm system moved through the state earlier in the day Friday. Officials also speculated that fireworks shot by New Year's revelers in the area might have caused severe stress in the birds. "It's completely indescribable how many birds were here. I've never been anything like it," said Melissa Weatherly, a Beebe resident. Blackbirds do not normally fly at night and it was not immediately clear what caused the odd behavior. Loud noises were reported shortly before the birds began falling, according to the game and fish commission. "The birds obviously hit something very hard and had hemorrhages," said Rowe. "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," she said. -- Stephanie Greenwood Ecovillage at Ithaca 221 Rachel Carson Way Ithaca, NY 14850 607 273 1179 607 280 1050 cell -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
