Louisiana Has Mass Bird Kill Just Days after Arkansas

Another Large Bird Kill Reported, This Time in Louisiana

January 4, 2011

The Lookout @ Yahoo News! - Paging Alfred Hitchcock and Tippi Hedren...

After reports of thousands of dead red-winged blackbirds falling from the sky in Beebe, Arkansas — along with reports of a massive fish kill in the same area — raised concerned eyebrows across the land, another bird kill is being reported in a small town near Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Reports the Baton Rouge Advocate:

State biologists are trying to determine what led to the deaths of the estimated 500 red-winged blackbirds and starlings on La. 1 just down the road from Pointe Coupee Central High School.

The discovery of the dead birds — some of which were lying face down, clumped in groups, while others were face up with their wings outstretched and rigid legs pointing upward — comes just three days after more than 3,000 blackbirds rained down from the sky in Beebe, Ark. ...

In Louisiana, biologists with the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries spent part of the day Monday scooping up some of the birds in Pointe Coupee Parish to be sent for testing at labs in Georgia and Wisconsin.

Officials in Arkansas say that the thousands of dead birds and fish discovered there over the weekend died of natural causes. As you might expect, others are insinuating that something more sinister is going on.

Hundreds of Dead Blackbirds Found Near New Roads, Louisiana

January 3, 2011

ABC News WBRZ - Around 500 dead blackbirds and starlings have been found in Pointe Coupee Parish, according to state wildlife officials.

The birds were spotted lying in roads and ditches near Labarre Elementary School. The community is between Morganza and New Roads on Highway 10.

Scientists from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries have been sent out to collect samples, which will be sent for testing to the University of Georgia and National Wildlife Center in Wisconsin.

This comes after about 5,000 blackbirds and swallows were found dead around Beebe, Ark. on New Year's Eve. Dr. Jim LaCour with LDWF said he's not sure the two incidents are connected.

"It's not common, (but) we do see a few die-offs for various reasons," said LaCour. "Yes, we need to look into it, we need to be a little alarmed, but it's not out of the scope of things to have a die-off."

LaCour said people who find such die-offs should not touch the animals, and instead contact their regional wildlife office.

Louisiana Has Mass Bird Kill Just Days after Arkansas

January 4, 2011

Associated Press - Blackbirds are having hard time staying alive in the Southeast.

Just a few days after 3,000 blackbirds fell from the sky in Arkansas, about 500 birds dropped to their death in Louisiana, littering a quarter-mile stretch of highway near Baton Rouge. It wasn't clear if the deaths were linked, but such massive wildlife kills are far from uncommon.

Biologists were trying to figure out what killed the birds in rural Pointe Coupee Parish, La. About 300 miles to the north, in the small town of Beebe in central Arkansas, scientists said celebratory fireworks on New Year's Eve likely sent thousands of discombobulated blackbirds into such a tizzy that they crashed into homes, cars and each other before plummeting to their deaths. Still, officials acknowledged it's unlikely they'll ever pinpoint a cause with certainty.

Wildlife officials in both Arkansas and Louisiana were sending carcasses to researchers at the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis. and the University of Georgia, but it's not clear the bird deaths were related.

In Beebe, New Year's revelers spent the holiday weekend cleaning up between 4,000 and 5,000 dead red-winged blackbirds. Some speculated that bad weather was to blame. Others said one confused bird could have led the group in a fatal plunge. A few spooked schoolkids guessed the birds committed mass suicide.

"There was probably some physical reason, but I doubt anyone will ever know what it was," said Thurman Booth, the state's wildlife services director.

The birds were the second mass wildlife death in Arkansas in recent days. Last week, about 83,000 dead and dying drum fish washed up along a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River, about 100 miles west of Beebe. Wildlife officials say the fish deaths are not related to the dead birds, and that because mainly one species of fish was affected, it is likely they were stricken by an illness. Full test results could take up to a month.

The U.S. Geological Service's website lists about 90 mass deaths of birds and other wildlife from June through Dec. 12. Five list deaths of at least 1,000 birds and another 12 show at least 500 dead birds.

The largest was near Houston, Minn., where about 4,000 water birds died between Sept. 6 and Nov. 26 from infestations of various parasites.

Red-winged blackbirds are among North America's most abundant birds, with somewhere between 100 million and 200 million nationwide, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, N.Y.