Community | January 03, 2011 | 119 comments

Massive populations of red wing black birds fall from the sky dead in Arkansas, New Jersey & New York > Thanks to the work of the USDA

source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtDSORVscNQ

gerardange
TodaysTHV) – Just before folks in Beebe (Arkansas) rang in the New Year, many witnessed an uncanny resemblance to the Hitchcock movie “The Birds.” About 2,000 black birds fell from the sky off Windwood Drive, leaving quite the mess to clean up.

Folks Today’s THV spoke with initially thought the birds were poisoned because they are what they call a nuisance around this time every year, but they are surprised to hear it is more of a mystery.

Stephen Bryant recalls, “Millions, millions fly over every night. You look up at the sky and it’s just black and then last night at about 10:30 I came out here and saw a bird drop.”

In a matter of hours on New Years Eve thousands of birds fell from the sky to their death.

Melissa Weatherly says, “I immediately called mom because I had to go to work, I said you have to come get the kids and get the dog because I don’t know what’s going on.” She continues, “It was horrible; you could not even get down the road without running over hundreds. It was that bad.”

The mystery is unraveling like scenes from a movie, dozens of U.S. Environmental Services crews spent the day picking up the birds, walking between homes and climbing on people roofs with protective hazmat suits and breathing masks.

Charles Boldrey stands outside watching the crews, “Nobody knows, I asked these guys who are out here picking them up and they don’t seem to know anything, nobody seems to know anything. It just kind of freaked everybody out.”

Officials with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission flew over the area and determined it’s a one mile stretch. There are a variety of dead black birds, mostly red winged and a duck was also found.

No one has been evacuated because the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) air test came back clean for toxins.

Weatherly is skeptical, “They’re walking around in mask and I’m wondering do we need the same thing because what makes that happen for them to drop out of the sky like that.”

Katherina Yancy with Today’s THV found one bird still living. It was confused, injured, continuously walked in circles and didn’t make a sound or attempt to fly.

Officials will confirm their findings when they get the test results, until then they are giving these possible scenarios: lightning, stress, high altitude hail or startled by fireworks, but neighbors just want answers.

Bryant says, “Something out of a movie and Hazmat people are walking around not telling us anything.”

Boldrey adds, “I’d like to know. Kind of spooky, you never know what’s going to happen.”

The birds should be cleaned up by Sunday. Game and Fish Commission’s Karen Rowe says poisoning doesn’t appear to be the case and strange events similar to this have occurred across the globe a number of times.

The City of Beebe held an emergency city council meeting Saturday morning to approve paying the U.S. Environmental Services to clean the neighborhood.

Sixty-five dead birds have been sent to off for testing.

Arkansas Game and Fish Press Release:

BEEBE, Ark.– Friday night, ringing in the New Year took on a whole different meaning for the citizens of Beebe. Around 11:30 p.m., enforcement officers with Arkansas Game and Fish Commission began getting reports of dead black birds falling from the sky in the city limits of Beebe.

Officers estimated that over 1,000 birds had fallen out of the sky over the city before midnight. Most of the birds were dead, but some were still alive when officers arrived. The blackbirds fell over a one-mile area in the city. AGFC wildlife officer Robby King responded to the reports and found hundreds of birds. “Shortly after I arrived there were still birds falling from the sky,” King said. King collected about 65 dead birds that will be sent to the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission lab and the National Wildlife Health Center lab in Madison, Wis.

The AGFC has flown over the area to gauge the scope of the event. There were no other birds found outside of the initial area.

AGFC ornithologist Karen Rowe said that strange events similar to this one have occurred a number of times across the globe. “Test results usually were inconclusive, but the birds showed physical trauma and that the flock could have been hit by lightning or high-altitude hail,” Rowe said.

Another scenario may have been that New Year’s Eve revelers shooting off fireworks in the area may have startled the birds from their roost. The birds may have died from stress.

Rowe said that it didn’t appear as though the birds died of any poisoning or other event. “Since it only involved a flock of blackbirds and only involved them falling out of the sky it is unlikely they were poisoned, but a necropsy is the only way to determine if the birds died from trauma or toxin,” she said. Testing will begin on Monday.

The City of Beebe has hired U.S. Environmental Services to begin the cleanup and dispose of the dead birds. The environmental firm will go door-to-door to pick up the birds that are still in yards and on roof tops.

THV’s Katherina Yancy is in Beebe and will have more on this story tonight on “Today’s THV at 6:00″ and also on the “THV 10:00 Difference.”


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119 comments // Massive populations of red wing black birds fall from the sky dead in Arkansas, New Jersey & New York > Thanks to the work of the USDA // Video

  • Bahai144
    • -2
      Bahai144  

    • In the U.S. media they're actually saying: 1.That there's no connection at all between the dead fish and the dead birds. and 2.That it was fireworks that made the birds fly into buildings! The people who are at the front lines of putting out these asinine statements clearly think that the public is completely without intelligence and willing to swallow any absurd "explanation" if it's repeated incessantly for a time and attached to the lips of some so-called "experts". Hmmmm...could they be right about that?

      I've been saying, since I heard the first thing about the redwinged blackbirds and fish in Arkansas, that there are now toxic clouds not too far up that are gathering from all the burning and evaporation they encouraged to happen in the spill and getting more dense. I figured that just like their chemicals cause congealing of the oil in the water its also combined in the air for a gaseous congealing of sorts so now theres the same kinds of toxic clouds in the air that there were/are in the water. Then when it rains through those gas clouds it precipitates out and poisons the inland fresh water and some species are more immediately killed off than others. I've heard also that this is not just happening in the U.S.

      Of course this will be denied and possibly several such mindbendingly stupid explanations as "blunt trauma" and fireworks displays will be spat out by various "experts" until the corrupt, junk science establishment can come to a consensus about what idiotic party line they feel comfortable getting behind as their official pronouncement in an effort to provide culpable deniability for their corporate masters.

      16:3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.

      16:4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.

      16:5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.

      16:6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.

      16:7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.

      (King James Bible, Revelation)

    • 1 year ago
  • Wetdog
  • dwb2585
    • 0
      dwb2585  

    • Well, according to Vierotchka, there is nothing unusual about 2,000 birds falling from the sky- Perfectly normal.

      So be careful everybody and watch the skies. Apparently, this happens all of the time. Thank you so much for your wisdom Vierotchka.

    • 1 year ago
  • Vierotchka
  • coolplanet
    • +1
      coolplanet  

    • For the past several years authorities in Pittsburgh have been killing thousands of Canadian geese that have suddenly been overwintering in North Park instead of flying much further south like they always did in the past.
      Is it global warming that is confusing these magnificent birds?
      Or could it be the ubiquitous grid of microwaves from our cell phones, satellite TV and GPS systems???

    • 1 year ago
  • Wetdog
    • +1
      Wetdog  
    • coolplanet:

      Or, could it be that their nesting grounds are being destroyed by strip mining tar sands in Canada?

      We "need" oil, but Canadian Geese are pests to be destroyed.

      That isn't even hunting----that is destruction simply for the sake of destruction.

      Just so the sidewalks and parks can look nice.

      So, we plant these huge lawns and parks(which is what geese eat)----then, we kill the geese that come to eat on them. Then we have to put chemicals and fertilizers on them to get the grass to grow----and the chemicals and fertilizer run off the lawns and parks and into our drinking water.

      It isn't just birds and fish being poisoned here.

    • 1 year ago
  • coolplanet
    • 0
      coolplanet  
    • Wetdog:

      Excellent points!
      In our mad rush to frack oil from tar sands, believing this is somehow fighting terrorism,

      "We have poisoned everything, and oblivious to it all
      the cell phone zombies babble through the shopping malls
      while condors fall from Indian skies, whales beach and die in sand,
      bad dreams are good in the great plan."
      ~Joni Mitchell, Shine

    • 1 year ago
  • Wetdog
  • coolplanet
  • sgordy1
    • +1
      sgordy1  

    • Loud noises killed birds?!?!? How stupid do you think Americans can be to actually believe that. Its horrible what happened, but come on government, don't lie to us already, so early in the new year.

    • 1 year ago
  • Ryuu88
  • Kinfolk
    • 0
      Kinfolk  

    • !***OH NO ...It's the start of 2012***!

      Well one thing that bothers me, how safe would you feel to be standing on your lawn and see officials walking by just few feet away wearing HAZMAT suits and mask? Yeah there is something very creepy about that. And then today you still see the same officials still wearing their Hazmat suits and mask only now their carrying M16's and the government has set up shop down the street. DAMN IT....Someone has some explaining to do and the frickin public wants answers.

      OK then all of sudden here's all the fish dying. Ok well now stop and think about that, "if" the USDA poisoned the birds, wouldn't it make sense if they -the birds fly over water and defecate...perhaps their waste falls into the water and made the fish die?

      About 10yrs ago a documentary re: electromagnetic waves/disturbances that were found in abundance in Great Britain, perhaps may be something to do with the earths Ley lines quite possibly...Could this be something of the same here? Yes Maybe.

      A similar incident took place with Starlings about a year ago and again we saw this as droves of dead birds dropped from the sky in Staten Island December 22nd 2007. If you DO YOUR research this is not uncommon but interesting. Could the great and wonderful "Trust worthy" government know more than what they're telling..Yeah I'm sure. I've got it !....It's a UFO invasion and they hate some of earths birds.

      Could it be the government testing sound waves and mind control possible, BTW: Did you know you can put a large magnet on the head of an alligator when you move him from one location to another and it prevents him from having memory of the move so he can't find his way back home? (Girls you can try this with your about to be Ex- boy friends) LMAO

      Could be the chemical plant had something to do with this Arkansas incident. And since we're on the subject, did anyone know that "Arkansas" is the only state mentioned in the KJV Bible?
      Yepers...For Noah looked out of the Ark and saw

      Just my thoughts

    • 1 year ago
  • Vierotchka
    • -1
      Vierotchka  

    • Gerardange, since you appear to know some French, here is an article that will give you some further and logical information:

      Les milliers d'oiseaux tombés du ciel sont morts de peur

      Arkansas | Selon les services vétérinaires de l'Etat, c'est un traumatisme qui serait à l'origine de la mort des volatiles: un habitant de Beebe a entendu une vingtaine de détonations, suivies par le vol erratique des passereaux.

      La pluie d’oiseaux morts qui a surpris le 1er janvier les habitants de la petite ville de Beebe dans l’Etat américain de l’Arkansas est certainement due à la frayeur, ont expliqué lundi des responsables.

      La mystérieuse pluie d’oiseaux avait commencé le soir de la Saint-Sylvestre. Plus de 5.000 volatiles ont été dénombrés, gisant dans les rues de Beebe. La plupart des oiseaux étaient des carouges à épaulettes, reconnaissables à leurs taches rouges à la base des ailes.

      "Nous sommes maintenant presque sûrs que c’est un traumatisme qui a causé leur mort", a déclaré un responsable des services vétérinaires de l’Etat, George Badley.

      Un habitant a indiqué avoir entendu une vingtaine de détonations samedi soir, --peut-être des feux d’artifice ou des coups de canons utilisés pour se débarrasser des oiseaux nuisibles--, suivies par le vol erratique d’une grande quantité d’oiseaux.

      "Il a entendu les carouges voltiger dans tous les sens, il a entendu leurs battements d’ailes et les a entendu heurter des obstacles", a raconté M. Badley à l’AFP.

      Les carouges à épaulettes ont une mauvaise vision nocturne et ont sans doute été tués en heurtant les maisons et les arbres dans leur frayeur.

      L’Etat de l’Arkansas a cependant décidé de mener une enquête pour être sûr qu’ils n’ont pas été victimes d’empoisonnement ou de maladie, a indiqué M. Badley.

      Le week-end de la Saint-Sylvestre n’a pas été très clément pour la faune dans cet Etat du sud des Etats-Unis: des centaines de milliers de poissons ont aussi été retrouvés morts dans la rivière Arkansas à environ 160 km de Beebe le 31 décembre, selon la chaîne de télévision KARK news.

      L’hypothèse d’une maladie est privilégiée car une seule espèce, le poisson tambour ocellé, est concernée.

      http://www.tdg.ch/milliers-oiseaux-tombes-ciel-morts-peur-2011-01-03

    • 1 year ago
  • Kangaroo_Taco
  • Vierotchka
  • Wetdog
    • +3
      Wetdog  

    • Vierotchka------I appreciate that you want to keep the story straight and don't want a lot of out of control, over inflated lies and rumors flying around. I agree with you on that. That would not help anything or anyone.

      I will say this however about the video that Gerard posted. It does contain a reference to a poisoning incident on the east coast in which the USDA admitted to poisoning some 2 million starlings. That is a LOT of birds-----the carcasses of which would fill a fleet of very large trucks. It would require a very large amount of poison.

      So what happens? This large amount of poison is put out------>the birds feed on it------->and fly off to who knows where-------->then they die------->then we have poison spread all over the place. Then they announce that the poison is harmless to humans. Well, I'm a little skeptical of THAT----what would you expect them to say about something that killed millions of birds that they spread all over and didn't tell anyone about? CYA. What about dogs or cats that might eat the dead birds? Or other animals? What if it gets into the water supply? How long does it stay in the environment? Just because it does not list toxic effects on the label does not mean there are no toxic effects--------it just means that the chemical manufacturer might be very good at hiding the toxic effects, or maybe they are not known yet. Marketing and using toxic chemicals and using less than ethical means to hide or dismiss toxic effects has a long and successful history where enough $$$ are involved.

      I'm not making any claims or accusations here----and it could have been anyone, it isn't just the government that puts out poisons. That's the trouble with poisons----once you put them out there, there is no telling where they might end up.

      I think this story needs to be watched and needs to be followed up on closely.

      All I can say is that red wings are beautiful birds---always one of my favorites. I've never known or even heard of red wings being the least bit bothersome or pests.

    • 1 year ago
  • Johnny_Los_Angeles
    • 0
      Johnny_Los_Angeles  

    • Personally I would rather it was biological then there would be nothing to worry about. My first reaction is that a hole in the earth's magnetic shield opened up or a localized pole reversal, these are now popping up all over the earth as the shield is weakening and destabilizing if you don't believe me do a search yourself.

    • 1 year ago
  • keithponder
  • Vierotchka
  • keithponder
    • +2
      keithponder  
    • Vierotchka:

      Good question and if I may Lady V, please allow me to answer your question with another question.

      Is that same sound the reason as to why thousands of fish in Arkansas are washing up dead on the riverbanks as well. ?

    • 1 year ago
  • Vierotchka
    • 0
      Vierotchka  
    • keithponder:

      According to experts, the fish died of a disease that affects only that species, and because in winter they gather in vast groups in deep waters, the virus or bacteria spread very quickly among them. So please be so kind as to answer my question.

    • 1 year ago
  • keithponder
    • +1
      keithponder  
    • Vierotchka:

      What experts ? Who are they ? Thousands of Fish in the rivers and birds in the sky, both suddenly dying n the same small space has to be more than just a coincidence. Sound is not killing the fish.

      Your question is answered and I'm going to bed now. Good night.

    • 1 year ago
  • Vierotchka
    • 0
      Vierotchka  
    • keithponder:

      Only one species of fish died in that fish kill - the drum, which gathers by the tens of thousands in deep waters in winter. Had it been poison of any kind, all the other local fish species would also have died, so biologists think it must have been a disease that only affects the drum, and the fact that they gather in vast numbers in deep waters in the winter resulted in the disease spreading very rapidly among them due to the crowded conditions. Also, the fish kill occurred some 125 miles from Beebe, so the two phenomena are unrelated, and I never suggested that sound was the cause of the fish kill. So please do answer my question instead of throwing a tantrum.

    • 1 year ago
  • Vierotchka
  • keithponder
  • Vierotchka
    • 0
      Vierotchka  
    • keithponder:

      I never implied that the fish died in mid-air collisions. The fish kill occurred 125 miles away from Beebe and one day before the birds dying in Beebe. As for the birds being startled and frightened by loud sounds and flying in panic, and colliding with trees and buildings because they have very poor night vision, there is absolutely nothing ridiculous whatsoever about that, it has happened before and it is a logical conclusion. I'm still waiting for you to answer my question.

    • 1 year ago
  • keithponder
    • 0
      keithponder  
    • Vierotchka:

      V, I answered your question. You just didn't appreciate my answer. There are others that feel the same as I do about this unexpected calamity.
      =================================================================
      +5Progresshiv
      Do you suppose it could be from the poisonous oil dispersants that BP sprayed into the water column? Nahhhh. Couldn't be that. BP says so, and they wouldn't lie.

      3 HOURS AGO

      +4 JanforGore
      Progresshiv:
      Oh no, you musn't mention that or how it can travel up the web of life, or how the damage to the Gulf will last for years with its consequences not known... The media and government have deemed that over so BP can rebuild it's pristine image.

    • 1 year ago
  • Vierotchka
    • 0
      Vierotchka  
    • keithponder:

      No you didn't answer my question. It was a straightforward question - I asked you if you can prove that the government is lying, or if it is just that you believe it is lying. Not one of your responses contained an answer to my question - neither did any of them contain any proof that the government is lying about these incidents. All your responses were avoiding the issues with regard to my question.

    • 1 year ago
  • hammywill
    • +1
      hammywill  

    • Oh and the title of this story? Where the FUCK did that come from?! What a load of BULLSHIT...when you start off with a lie that big and fat...you have NO credibility...NONE!

    • 1 year ago
  • Gravity_Man
  • Vierotchka
  • Gravity_Man
  • keithponder
    • +1
      keithponder  
    • Gravity_Man:

      Thu, 16 Dec 2010 22:17:46 +0000
      Gravity_Man commented on Woman sues TSA, DHS heads after agent's "boob" comment 6 hours ago,....

      Chimpanzee-Americans hopping up & down while China and Israel work on my engines. Nothing can save you all from skulls filled with pig slop.
      ================================================================
      Let me help you get some viewer ship on some of your comments

    • 1 year ago
  • Gravity_Man
    • 0
      Gravity_Man  
    • keithponder:

      "Chimpanzee-Americans" would be Evolution-believing Americans. As I recall you took it the way YOU wanted to take it because you're ultra-sensitive and a bit paranoid.

      I was pointing out how the vaunted evolved American evolution-believers are being taken to the proverbial woodshed by the Chinese.

      Obviously your pig slop brains turned it into something racist.

    • 1 year ago
  • keithponder
  • Gravity_Man
    • 0
      Gravity_Man  
    • keithponder:

      I'm waiting for you to answer Vierotchka. You do that first, now that you've turned in for bed trying to escape her.

      Otherwise your soul can rot this night no matter what color you are.

    • 1 year ago
  • Gravity_Man
    • 0
      Gravity_Man  
    • keithponder:

      Here's the crummy remarks you made to me and you did indeed bring up race =>

      Keithponder wrote: "Hey Gravity Man. Since you're so damn sure that the world agrees with you racist remarks about Black people, do this and I'll shut up. Post a story for all of us to read regarding your Third Reich White Supremest believes and use your real name. Take down the picture of the stupid picture of the storm clouds and show us a picture of your Stupid face. SHOW YOUR FACE. Stop hiding. You're really about as smart as a dead piece of shit is. More successful that Einstein right? ....... he he he he he he. I gave you way more time that you really deserve."

      You were damning me, inventing accusations and overall you went crazy all over me because YOU didn't have the brains to understand my comment.

      That's YOUR problem mister scum-talker.

      Look at your words dodge fast.

      And your bosom friend Nephrack was slinging it plenty also. Both of ya went bonkers nuts crazy that day. Now I've showed you where you were WRONG and you aren't man enough to fess up and apologize. You're sick man. Look up there at your words. None of it's true.

      You are a vile and wicked man.

    • 1 year ago
  • Gravity_Man
  • keithponder
  • Vierotchka
    • +1
      Vierotchka  

    • Massive bird deaths likely caused by loud noises

      A mysterious event that caused thousands of redwing blackbirds to rain down from the sky New Year's Eve in the Arkansas town of Beebe most likely occurred when loud noises and fireworks frightened a flock that roosts in a neighborhood, causing them to die when they flew into buildings and other obstacles, says a state ornithologist.

      Preliminary necropsies on the dead birds by the state Livestock and Poultry Commission "showed trauma, the birds obviously hit something very hard and had hemorrhages," says Karen Rowe, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission ornithologist. Beyond that all the birds were healthy. The state is also performing chemical and disease testing, but the results will take a week.

      Neighbors reported "five to 12 booming noises in the eastern part of town. They reported it sounding like a cannon or transformer exploding," but officials are still investigating to find out what the noises were, Rowe says.

      The blackbird flock then rose from its roost and tried to fly away, but possibly because of fireworks in the sky "they naturally wouldn't want to go up high," Rowe says.

      "They were below the roof line, so they were hitting houses, mail boxes, chimneys and walls," says Rowe. Blackbirds have very poor night vision.

      The first calls about the incident came in at about 11:00 p.m. on New Year's Eve, says Keith Stephens, with the Game and Fish Commission.

      "They told us there were birds falling out of the sky. After we verified that this wasn't some kind of prank, one of our wildlife officers went over there and sure enough, there were birds falling," he says.

      Large flocks of blackbirds are very common in Arkansas, Stephens says. "It's not uncommon to see hundreds or thousands of them in a field feeding. Once they're startled they can almost completely blacken the sky."

      The wildlife agent sent to Beebe wasn't able to tell how many blackbirds took wing. "It was pitch black and they are black," Stephens points out. But "they were just raining down."

      The state Department of Emergency Management did testing of the air and found nothing amiss, so the state isn't putting out any health warnings, Stephens says.

      The number of dead blackbirds is more than 3,000, says Rowe. They were mostly found in the Windwood neighborhood of the town of 4,500. "Environmental Services says they picked up approximately 2,000 birds," she says. There were others they couldn't reach, and "scavengers probably carried off quite a bit — if you're a cat, it's Christmas dinner."

      Over the past several weeks "there have been swarms of blackbirds flying over" the neighborhood, says Ginger Pearson, owner of Beebe Tees & Things, a clothing store. "There's a wooded area back behind it."

      The subdivision was previously agricultural fields and a nearby forested area has long been home to the blackbird flock, says Rowe. The birds have been enough of a nuisance that in previous years the town has asked the state Dept. of Agriculture to disperse them.

      Redwing Blackbirds are native to North America and gather in large flocks in the winter, generally settling near food sources for weeks at a time, says Mike Parr of the American Bird Conservancy in Washington D.C.

      The number of birds that died is high, he says, but "to put the number in perspective, windows, communication towers, power lines and wind turbines kill tens of millions of birds each year, probably hundreds of millions."

      In an unrelated event, a major fish kill was reported on the Arkansas river, also on New Year's Day, says Stephens. About 80,000 to 100,000 dead freshwater drum were found along a 20-mile stretch of the river.

      State officials believe the fish kill was disease-related, as it only affected one species, and it was during a cold spell when the fish would have concentrated in deep water, allowing "the disease to spread fairly quickly," says Stephens. Specimens have been sent to state labs for testing.

      While this is an extremely large fish kill, they're not that uncommon, and can be caused by disease, changes in water temperature or low oxygen levels.

      There's no reason to think the blackbirds and the freshwater drum deaths are related. "They're 200 miles apart," says Stephens.

      The incidents — coming during a traditionally slow news period — made for a wild weekend for state Game and Fish staffers.

      "It's the craziest thing I've ever experienced and I've been doing this for 25 years," says Stephens. "I'll bet you I've had 100 calls today, I've done 25 interviews. I did Al Jazeera live last night."

      http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-01-03-dead-birds_N.htm

    • 1 year ago
  • Gravity_Man
    • -3
      Gravity_Man  
    • Vierotchka:

      It's just exactly like I've been saying, haven't I been saying it all along?, it's all commonplace! Thousands of birds + thousands of suddenly dead fish no reason = COMMONPLACE.

      For Arkansas.

    • 1 year ago
  • gerardange
    • 0
      gerardange  

    • ONE MORE TIME........The USDA has already admitted the act of feeding the birds poison grain... and admitted to the act of killing two million birds.

    • 1 year ago
  • Vierotchka
  • Jeremy_Benson
  • gerardange
    • 0
      gerardange  
    • Image
    • Vierotchka:

      Maybe.... you should try viewing the original video at the top of the page @ 2:44 for the USDA Confirmation on the poisoning of the birds.

      vierotchka, everything you say is "plausible"... But, if the USDA confirms the poisoning of the birds~ as they have done above... then, the case is closed.

      The next question we should be asking is:
      What Right do they have to do that? Obviously they feel that they have been granted the authority to do this.... By whom??? And, for what reason?

      In this day and age we should all be smart enough to realize what a massive kill like this, of a single population of birds can have a direct affect repercussions across many species in other animal populations in other areas of the country.

      Either way.... these stupid acts in an economy where Teachers, Firefighters and, police are all being laid off.... To have a budget to proceed with this planned killing was more than likely pushed from "The top down" to respond to the Corporate Agra Businesses who demand that the USDA protect their crop seedlings in the fields.
      = An agra business kill...

      I'm sure Monsanto is looking into ways to kill all of them pesky BIRDS... as well as everything else that they already kill...

      Corporations have grabbed on to the steering wheel and the all citizens are locked in the trunk . (sitting quietly)

      And, all the people do... is just sit back and watch just like cows going to slaughter?

      ~

    • 1 year ago
  • Gravity_Man
    • 0
      Gravity_Man  
    • gerardange:

      Well, when a few thousand of the human flock falls off their roofs midday the rest of us in the non-dead flock will SUE EM. All we're waiting for right now is for those ones to start flaking off then we will spring like John Robey, the Cat! Class Action bay-bee yeah!

    • 1 year ago
  • gerardange
    • +1
      gerardange  
    • Jeremy_Benson:

      Look Jeremy, I really don't sit in front of this computer all day like some people one here waiting for you or someones beckon call... To tell them... to look where you should of been looking in the first place...

      I have a business to run and have clients and have to pay my bills..like everyone else..,

      AGAIN: For the information that you have been asking for

      [quote] as you've been told a couple times already [end quote]

      You should try viewing the original video at the top of the page ( 2 minutes 44 seconds ) for the USDA Confirmation on the poisoning of the birds.

    • 1 year ago
  • Vierotchka
    • 0
      Vierotchka  
    • gerardange:

      According to the video, it says it is responsible for the reduction of European starlings, nothing to do with blackbirds. I need a link to a more reliable source, perhaps the USDA itself, where it states that it is responsible for the killing of these red-wing blackbirds. Furthermore, the video you posted is of such a bad quality - both visual and sound - that I and probably everyone else switched it off after a few seconds. If you're going to post videos on Current, try to post quality ones.

    • 1 year ago
  • Vierotchka
  • hammywill
  • gerardange
    • +1
      gerardange  
    • Vierotchka:

      Vierotchka says: "According to the video, it says it is responsible for the reduction of European starlings, nothing to do with blackbirds. I need a link to a more reliable source, perhaps the USDA itself"

      I would say from experience... that I don't agree.
      Rule #1: You get nothing but BS through **(PIO's) Prepared Statements= That's Not News thats only lip service.

      That is the problem with the mainstream news here in the USA today. 95% lip service = business as usual.

      **PIO: Public Information Officer

    • 1 year ago
  • gerardange
  • gerardange
  • hammywill
  • Vierotchka
    • +2
      Vierotchka  
    • Image

    • Doppler Image from Texas showing the collision of a thunderstorm with a group of bats in flight. The color red indicates the animals flying into the storm.

      Raining animals

      Raining animals is a rare meteorological phenomenon, although occurrences have been reported from many countries throughout history. One hypothesis that has been offered to explain this phenomenon is that strong winds travelling over water sometimes pick up creatures such as fish or frogs, and carry them for up to several miles.[1] However, this primary aspect of the phenomenon has never been witnessed or scientifically tested.

      The animals most likely to drop from the sky in a rainfall are fish, frogs and birds, in that order. Sometimes the animals survive the fall, especially fish, suggesting the animals are dropped shortly after extraction. Several witnesses of raining frogs describe the animals as startled, though healthy, and exhibiting relatively normal behavior shortly after the event. In some incidents, however, the animals are frozen to death or even completely encased in ice. There are examples where the product of the rain is not intact animals, but shredded body parts. Some cases occur just after storms having strong winds, especially during tornadoes.

      However, there have been many unconfirmed cases in which rainfalls of animals have occurred in fair weather and in the absence of strong winds or waterspouts.

      The English language idiom "it is raining cats and dogs", referring to a heavy downpour, is of uncertain etymology, and there is no evidence that it has any connection to the "raining animals" phenomenon.

      Explanations

      French physicist André-Marie Ampère was among the first scientists to take seriously accounts of raining animals. He tried to explain rains of frogs with a hypothesis that was eventually refined by other scientists. Speaking in front of the Society of Natural Sciences, Ampère suggested that at times frogs and toads roam the countryside in large numbers, and that the action of violent winds can pick them up and carry them great distances.[2]

      More recently, a scientific explanation for the phenomenon has been developed that involves tornadic waterspouts [3]. Waterspouts are capable of capturing objects and animals and lifting them into the air. Under this theory, waterspouts or tornados transport animals to relatively high altitudes, carrying them over large distances. The winds are capable of carrying the animals over a relatively wide area and allow them to fall in a concentrated fashion in a localized area.[4] More specifically, some tornadoes can completely suck up a pond, letting the water and animals fall some distance away in the form of a rain of animals.[5]

      This hypothesis appears supported by the type of animals in these rains: small and light, usually aquatic.[6] It is also supported by the fact that the rain of animals is often preceded by a storm. However the theory does not account for how all the animals involved in each individual incident would be from only one species, and not a group of similarly-sized animals from a single area.

      In the case of birds, storms may overcome a flock in flight, especially in times of migration. The image to the right shows an example where a group of bats is overtaken by a thunderstorm.[7]. The image shows how the phenomenon could take place in some cases. In the image, the bats are in the red zone, which corresponds to winds moving away from the radar station, and enter into a mesocyclone associated with a tornado (in green). These events may occur easily with birds in flight. In contrast, it is harder to find a plausible explanation for rains of terrestrial animals; the enigma persists despite scientific studies.

      Sometimes, scientists have been incredulous of extraordinary claims of rains of fish. For example, in the case of a rain of fish in Singapore in 1861, French naturalist Francis de Laporte de Castelnau explained that the supposed rain took place during a migration of walking catfish, which are capable of dragging themselves over the land from one puddle to another.[8] Thus, he argued that the appearance of fish on the ground immediately after a rain was easily explained, as these animals usually move over soft ground or after a rain.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raining_animals

    • 1 year ago
  • gerardange
  • Vierotchka
  • Nephwrack
  • gerardange
    • -1
      gerardange  
    • Vierotchka:

      Vierotchka:
      Maybe.... you should try viewing the original video at the top of the page @ 2:44 for the USDA Confirmation on the poisoning of the birds.

      vierotchka, everything you say is "plausible"... But, if the USDA confirms the poisoning of the birds~ as they have none above... then it's case closed.

      The next question we should be asking is:
      What Right do they have to do that? Obviously they feel they that they have been given the authority to do this .... By whom and for what reason?

    • 1 year ago
  • Vierotchka
    • 0
      Vierotchka  

    • It is not millions, it is a bit more than three thousand.

      Labs seek clues after 3,000 birds die in Arkansas

      LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Wildlife experts are trying to solve a mystery that evoked images of the apocalypse: Why did more than 3,000 red-winged blackbirds tumble from the Arkansas sky shortly before midnight on New Year's Eve?

      Scientists are investigating whether fireworks, poison or bad weather might have forced the birds out of the sky, or if a disoriented bird simply led the flock into the ground.

      "We have a lot more questions," said Karen Rowe, an ornithologist with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. She said there are documented cases of birds becoming confused and plunging to earth.

      Residents of the small town of Beebe, northeast of Little Rock, awoke Saturday to find thousands of dead blackbirds littering a 1.5-square-mile area. The birds inexplicably dropped dead, landing on homes, cars and lawns.

      Cleanup crews wore white suits, gas masks and rubber gloves as they spent the holiday weekend gathering the carcasses.

      The birds will not be missed. Large blackbird roosts like one at Beebe can have thousands of birds that leave ankle- to knee-deep piles of droppings in places.

      Nearly a decade ago, state wildlife officials fired blanks from shotguns and cannons to move a roost of thousands of blackbirds from Beebe, but in recent years many of the migratory birds returned.

      Bird carcasses were shipped to the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission and the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis. Researchers in Georgia also asked for a set of the dead birds. Test results could be back in a week.

      Rowe said many of the birds suffered injuries from striking the ground, but it was not clear whether they were alive when they hit.

      Blackbirds have notoriously bad eyesight. If startled at night, they could easily fly into the ground, Rowe said. A few grackles and a couple of starlings were also among the dead. Those species roost with blackbirds, particularly in winter.

      Violent weather rumbled over much of the state Friday, including a tornado that killed three people in Cincinnati, Ark. Lightning could have killed the birds directly or startled them to the point that they became confused. Hail also has been known to knock birds from the sky.

      In 2001, lightning killed about 20 mallards at Hot Springs, and a flock of dead pelicans was found in the woods about 10 years ago, Rowe said. Lab tests showed that they, too, had been hit by lighting.

      Back in 1973, hail knocked birds from the sky at Stuttgart, Ark., on the day before hunting season. Some of the birds were caught in a violent storm's updrafts and became encased in ice before falling from the sky.

      Rowe said poisoning was possible but unlikely. She said birds of prey and other animals, including dogs and cats, ate several of the dead birds and suffered no ill effects.

      "Every dog and cat in the neighborhood that night was able to get a fresh snack that night," Rowe said.

      Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

      http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hzf9pXYc7WhUkAM6crwQaj9uoTBw?d...

    • 1 year ago
  • gerardange
  • Vierotchka
  • Gravity_Man
  • gerardange
    • 0
      gerardange  
    • Vierotchka:

      Vierotchka:
      Maybe.... you should try viewing the original video at the top of the page @ 2:44 for the USDA Confirmation on the poisoning of the birds.

      vierotchka, everything you say is "plausible"... But, if the USDA confirms the poisoning of the birds~ as they have none above... then it's case closed.

      The next question we should be asking is:
      What Right do they have to do that? Obviously they feel they that they have been given the authority to do this .... By whom and for what reason?

    • 1 year ago
  • TypicalStereotype
    • -1
      TypicalStereotype  

    • What happened to the UFO aspect?
      Don't forget that country folks get crop circles, cow mutilations, alien abductions... And now mass bird flock killings.
      It's gotta be USO's electromagnetic force fields killing the fishies down the way, also. Open your eyes to the TrUTH!!! Puwahahaha

    • 1 year ago
  • TypicalStereotype
    • -1
      TypicalStereotype  

    • What happened to the UFO aspect?
      Don't forget that country folks get crop circles, cow mutilations, alien abductions... And now mass bird flock killings.
      It's gotta be USO's electromagnetic force fields killing the fishies down the way, also. Open your eyes to the TrUTH!!! Puwahahaha

    • 1 year ago
  • Vierotchka
    • +1
      Vierotchka  
    • Image

    • http://abcnews.go.com/US/killed-thousands-black-birds-hundreds-thousands-drum-fi...

      Thunder and lightning is being blamed for the death of thousands of blackbirds who rained down out of the Arkansas sky on New Year's Eve.

      "There were multiple thunderstorms that night and for several days that week," said Dr. George Badley, state veterinarian for the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission. "Red-winged blackbirds fly in large groups and if they got pulled into a thunderstorm, likely lightning struck them. That would be my best guess."

      Officials sent some of the carcasses of the red-winged blackbirds to Badley's Arkansas laboratory. The rest of the birds to be tested were taken to laboratories in Georgia and Wisconsin.

      "Almost every one of them...had multiple internal hemorrhages which would mean that it was trauma, not a disease process. Their stomachs were empty, which would rule out toxicity from eating some kind of poison grain," Badley said.

      Blood and culture tests on the birds are still pending.

      With just minutes to go before New Year's Day, dead birds began falling over Beebe, Ark., a town of 5,000 people located 40 miles northeast of Little Rock.

      Officials from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said that at least 2,000 carcasses of the birds were collected by the U.S. Environmental Services on Saturday and Sunday, but they believe that up to 3,500 birds actually tumbled from the sky.

      The black birds roost in huge numbers across eastern Arkansas.

      "They're almost like clouds at times the way they fly across the landscape," Jeff Williams from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said.

      Williams said birds are more susceptible to trauma than many people realize.

      "Birds are pretty fragile. They can be stressed out very easily," Williams said.

      Williams said that fireworks set off by those celebrating the New Year or thunderstorms could have startled the birds. While State Veterinarian Badley didn't rule out the possibility of fireworks, he thought that it was highly unlikely to be the cause.

      It's not the first time birds have dropped from the Arkansas sky. Lightning killed ducks at Hot Springs in 2001 and hail knocked birds from the sky at Stuttgart in 1973 on the day before hunting season.

    • 1 year ago
  • gerardange
  • Vierotchka
  • Wetdog
    • 0
      Wetdog  
    • Vierotchka:

      V----I grew up and lived most of my life in Missouri and Arkansas. Red wings are pretty common, and you'll see them pretty much grouped around any body of water, especially low marshy land. But, they are solitary nesters---they do not flock together in large groups as for instance ducks.

      It just seems strange to me. Birds that do not flock but live in a riparian environment(water's edge) killed in large numbers----one solitary duck(which do flock) found. A large fish kill at the same time.

      Something is sure not right here----and the explanations in the articles seem pretty implausible to me---birds are fragile???? Uuuuummmm, not in my experience they aren't.

      There's something strange in the neighborhood---I think we need to call Ghostbusters.

      I don't have any explanation---except that I think the ones given in the article are pretty much off wall.

    • 1 year ago
  • Vierotchka
    • 0
      Vierotchka  
    • Wetdog:

      The old saying, “Birds of a feather flock together,” is particularly true among blackbirds in winter. Though many birds band together during winter, none are as notorious for their flocking behavior as blackbirds…red-winged blackbirds, European starlings, common grackles and brown-headed cowbirds.

      This group of a feather often flock together in the many thousands, sometimes the millions. One winter roost in the Great Dismal Swamp on the Virginia-North Carolina border held an estimated 15 million birds. Flocks in the thousands often roost in urban and suburban areas, where their numbers and their noise make them unpopular among the people living nearby. Attempts by state and federal wildlife officials to discourage or destroy such flocks of wintering blackbirds have usually failed. One experiment, using a wetting agent sprayed on a huge flock of birds from an aircraft, left a much greater mess in the form of rotting carcasses.

      Many wonder why birds in general and blackbirds in particular gather in flocks in winter. Though studies have been inconclusive, it is believed that there is safety in numbers. With many more eyes and ears to search for food and watch for predators, the chance of an individual bird surviving winter is increased. There are reports of hawks attacking flocks of flying birds time and again, but failing to capture even one when the prey closed ranks to form a mass that the hawk was unwilling or unable to penetrate without being injured.

      http://californiabirdwatching.wordpress.com/2010/01/26/flock-together-red-winged...

    • 1 year ago
  • gerardange
    • 0
      gerardange  
    • Vierotchka:

      Vierotchka:
      Maybe.... you should try viewing the original video at the top of the page @ 2:44 for the USDA Confirmation on the poisoning of the birds.

      vierotchka, everything you say is "plausible"... But, if the USDA confirms the poisoning of the birds~ as they have none above... then it's case closed.

      The next question we should be asking is:
      What Right do they have to do that? Obviously they feel they that they have been given the authority to do this .... By whom and for what reason?

    • 1 year ago
  • Gravity_Man
    • 0
      Gravity_Man  
    • gerardange:

      I smell a prank and a RAT => why did they choose to kill off birds ON THEIR DAYS OFF IT WAS A NATIONAL HOLIDAY, and a Friday to boot! Were these guys dedicated bird killers or WHAT?! Dig under their clean fingernails and you'll find rat droppings.

    • 1 year ago
  • hammywill
  • Wetdog
    • 0
      Wetdog  

    • "The birds should be cleaned up by Sunday. Game and Fish Commission’s Karen Rowe says poisoning doesn’t appear to be the case and strange events similar to this have occurred across the globe a number of times."

      Poisoning seems to me a far more likely explanation than "startled by fireworks".

      It says they also found a dead duck---ducks also live on water.

      I think they need to be testing water, not air.

    • 1 year ago
  • Gravity_Man
    • -1
      Gravity_Man  
    • Wetdog:

      Birds drink from standing puddles of water, a poor choice but it beats dying thirsty. Perhaps some of the Gulf Corexit chemicals were carried into the air by evaporation.

    • 1 year ago
  • Wetdog
    • 0
      Wetdog  

    • Red Wing Blackbirds live in shorelines and marsh areas. It seems very coincidental that birds which depend on water for habitat begin falling dead from the sky, and a massive fish kill happen in the same state(although presumably over 100 miles apart) at the same time.

      Microwaves do not fit the scenario. Microwaves are a constant---why would birds suddenly start dying from microwaves when they did not before?

    • 1 year ago
  • Gravity_Man
  • Gravity_Man
    • -1
      Gravity_Man  
    • Wetdog:

      I've sat outside a Target store and watched these birds 4 years ago, watching them stagger around like drunks. I've been waiting for such bird kills ever since.

    • 1 year ago
  • Jeremy_Benson
    • 0
      Jeremy_Benson  
    • Gravity_Man:

      Well, it's a simple process to validate your claim. If it's true, it will start happening more often, everywhere. I'd give it year, and if there aren't dead animals littering the ground by then it's probably safe.

    • 1 year ago
  • Gravity_Man
    • -1
      Gravity_Man  
    • Jeremy_Benson:

      Good plan! Wait for more dead animals! Whew. Especially old raunchy birds, foul little unwashed creatures that spread disease and lice. We should kill them all sir. And bats with nose fungus, kill them too sir. Bees that sting innosink little kids in the summer time, kill them also sir. hahaha We're gonna clean up this here two-bit town. The battle lines have been drawn => we march on Beebe at dawn.

    • 1 year ago
  • Jeremy_Benson
    • 0
      Jeremy_Benson  
    • Gravity_Man:

      Please, don't strawman me. I'm smarter than that. What else would you propose to do? They're already examining the birds and releasing preliminary reports. Gonna go get some birds and bring them back to your personal lab? Maybe start blowing up some cellphone towers?

    • 1 year ago
  • Gravity_Man
    • 0
      Gravity_Man  

    • Very thin skull bones, penetrated easily by microwaves => "confused, injured, continuously walked in circles and didn’t make a sound or attempt to fly." The bird's brains have been destroyed flying through cellphone tower's concentrated waves near the towers.

      Birds have very lightweight bones, now it works against them. Just wait til they increase signals from IPv4 to IPv6 we can watch people driving their cars off of cliffs into the sea. This is only the beginning.

    • 1 year ago
  • ozoneocean
    • 0
      ozoneocean  
    • Gravity_Man:

      I doubt that's a valid idea. Microwave transmissions are extremely narrow so even if it WAS possible for them to harm the birds then only about 5 or 6 who happened to be flying in that transmission beam would be affected.

    • 1 year ago
  • Gravity_Man
  • ozoneocean
    • 0
      ozoneocean  
    • Gravity_Man:

      They tell A story, not necessarily the one you're referring to.
      This article is about millions of birds. Microwave transmissions are waaaaaaay too narrow to do that. Not even on a 100.

      Birds don't travel in a gigantic straight line of over a million individuals that just happen to all be going parallel to a particular microwave transmission.

    • 1 year ago
  • Gravity_Man
  • tverdell
  • Jeremy_Benson
    • 0
      Jeremy_Benson  
    • ozoneocean:

      This article is about 2000 birds. Just 2000. If it was actually a million I'd be very worried. In fact, the reason I came to this article was to correct the title, but the posted article already does that.

    • 1 year ago
  • Gravity_Man
    • -2
      Gravity_Man  
    • tverdell:

      Try not to criss-cross the inside of your house with wireless devices. Several weeks ago also it was revealed in the news that women having an excess amount of sonagrams of their developing fetus has been penetrating the baby's brain, eyes, nervous system and so on.

      Red flags are flying. If we had special eyeglasses made to see those frequencies people would freak out. The radiation easily passes through a pregnant woman's stomach at the Mall, crowded places where everyone has a phone. It all adds up.

      It's a shame to damage a human being before it's even born. They say the babies being sonagrammed so much are being switched from being right-handed to being left-handed. Left-handed people have more accidents and live a shorter life.

      Although I've seen some very dynamic baseball pitchers and hitters who were lefties too! Perhaps that's one of the reasons it's being done to them....

    • 1 year ago
  • ImConcerned
  • gerardange
  • Vierotchka
    • +1
      Vierotchka  
    • gerardange:

      Just wondering - what is the size of the area on which the dead birds fell - because if it is a small area, the dead birds would be several feet deep if they were millions.

    • 1 year ago
  • Gravity_Man
  • Aaron_Brutus
  • gerardange
    • 0
      gerardange  
    • Vierotchka:

      I have and Idea... Go there and count them!

      Look, If there were only a few thousand birds I sure no one would of noticed.
      and the two million figure in in an other report if you go on further.

    • 1 year ago
  • Gravity_Man
    • 0
      Gravity_Man  
    • Vierotchka:

      Excellent point Vierotchka! And if 3,000 birds fell over a few blocks there wouldn't be room to walk! And that's probably how it was, tonight, from Water Cronkite in New York, Good-night.

    • 1 year ago
  • hammywill
    • +1
      hammywill  
    • gerardange:

      Every news agency I have seen reporting on this is saying it is in the thousands...the difference between thousands and millions is unmistakable. You made the "millions" claim, now it is up to you to prove it or you are full of shit.

    • 1 year ago
  • Vierotchka
    • 0
      Vierotchka  
    • gerardange:

      About five thousand in an urban area of 1.5 square miles - of course it would be noticed, and it was. Were it millions, the place would be several feet deep with bird carcasses.

    • 1 year ago
  • Vierotchka
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