More Than 1,000 Dead Birds Fall From Sky In Arkansas

AT showmetheloan.net some are speculating that this is the beginning of shorting food and water .... Some news reports said the birds flew into each other, death from stress with fireworks the trigger - yeah right. Hazmat suits are always used for birds that are stressed out - does this happen every year after fireworks? Inquiring minds would like to know.

More Than 1,000 Dead Birds Fall From Sky In Arkansas: "Several hundred thousand red-winged blackbirds have used a wooded area in the town as a roost for the past several years, he said. Robertson and other officials went to the roost area over the weekend and found no dead birds on the ground.

'That pretty much rules out an illness' or poisoning, the mayor said.

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission ornithologist Karen Rowe said Saturday the birds showed physical trauma, and speculated that 'the flock could have been hit by lightning or high-altitude hail.'

The commission said that New Year's Eve revelers shooting off fireworks could have startled the birds from their roost and caused them to die from stress.

Robby King, a wildlife officer for the commission, collected about 65 dead birds, which will be sent for testing to the state Livestock and Poultry Commission lab and the National Wildlife Health Center lab in Madison, Wis."