Some 500 dead and dying birds fell onto a Louisiana highway on Monday, just three days after a similar incident in Arkansas.
The events have led to speculation running from poisonings to "End of Days" scenarios, but a key federal agency emphasized that mass bird die-offs are not that rare.
Most of the birds found on Louisiana Highway 1 near Point Coupee were red-winged blackbirds, as was the case in Beebe, Ark., some 360 miles away. The species is one of the most common in the United States, with a population estimated at up to 200 million.
Some of the Louisiana birds will be tested by the National Wildlife Center run by the U.S. Geological Survey. But a USGS spokesman told The Baton Rouge Advocate that USGS records showed 16 incidents in the last 30 years where more than 1,000 blackbirds have died all at once.
"These large events do take place," he said. "It's not terribly unusual."
The National Audubon Society agreed that mass bird die-offs are not rare. "Initial findings indicate that these are isolated incidents," Greg Butcher, Audubon's director of bird conservation, said in a statement.
Hmmm I wonder whats up with this???
The events have led to speculation running from poisonings to "End of Days" scenarios, but a key federal agency emphasized that mass bird die-offs are not that rare.
Most of the birds found on Louisiana Highway 1 near Point Coupee were red-winged blackbirds, as was the case in Beebe, Ark., some 360 miles away. The species is one of the most common in the United States, with a population estimated at up to 200 million.
Some of the Louisiana birds will be tested by the National Wildlife Center run by the U.S. Geological Survey. But a USGS spokesman told The Baton Rouge Advocate that USGS records showed 16 incidents in the last 30 years where more than 1,000 blackbirds have died all at once.
"These large events do take place," he said. "It's not terribly unusual."
The National Audubon Society agreed that mass bird die-offs are not rare. "Initial findings indicate that these are isolated incidents," Greg Butcher, Audubon's director of bird conservation, said in a statement.
Hmmm I wonder whats up with this???
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