The end of the world is nigh!
From the AP via MSNBC:
More than 1,000 dead birds fall from sky in Ark.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said Saturday more than 1,000 dead blackbirds fell from the sky in Beebe.
The agency said its enforcement officers began receiving reports about the dead birds about 11:30 p.m. Friday. The birds fell over a one-mile area of the city, and an aerial survey indicated that no other dead birds were found outside of that area, officials said.
Robby King, a wildlife officer for the agency, 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.
Commission ornithologist Karen Rowe said that similar events have occurred elsewhere and that test results "usually were inconclusive."
The birds showed physical trauma, said Rowe, who surmised that "the flock could have been hit by lightning or high-altitude hail."
The agency also said another possibility is that New Year's Eve revelers shooting off fireworks in the area could have startled the birds from their roost and caused them to die from stress.
It's doubtful the birds were poisoned, Rowe said, "since it only involved a flock of blackbirds and only involved them falling out of the sky." She said a necropsy is the only way to determine if the birds were poisoned.
The city of Beebe hired U.S. Environmental Services to clean up and dispose of the dead birds.
As a bird enthusiast, this is a sad occurrence.
First of all, they are not "black birds." They are Red-Winged Blackbirds. There is a difference. Every article about this has made the same error. Just a smidgen of effort to be accurate isn't too much to ask.
The theories of lightening or high altitude hail seem plausible to any reasonable person.
The fireworks theory doesn't fly. This is not the first time fireworks have been used on New Year's Eve. And, if true, flocks of birds should be dropping every Fourth of July.
Poison has so far been ruled out. If it were poison, Red-Winged Black Birds would not be the only type of bird to be affected.
Not sure how they are determining physical trauma. I would think a bird plummeting from hundreds of feet in the sky would be pretty beat up just from the impact with the ground.
Over at MSNBC, the faithful loons can't believe this was a natural event. It's just more evidence to bolster their governmental conspiracy theories.
Here are a few examples from their nutty comments section:
chemtrail
dm attsonI have been paying attention to these " Chemtrails " and they don't look normal, Kind of milky smoke, I hope more ppl become aware of this event
This is a BAD OMEN for the coming year
Accidental exposure to a military nerve agent.
According to these tin-foil-black helicopter conspiracy wonks, "chemtrails" involve the military injecting chemical agents into vapor trails that occur in flight.
People actually take this seriously. This freak-a-zoid is a true believer, describing it as a "chemical genocide aerosol spraying operation."
Sort of like crop dusting for humans.
Wikipedia has an entire entry devoted to this sinister military experiment.
It's just a matter of time until "global warming" will be named the culprit.
Re-God-damned-diculous.
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Filed under:
Environment, Media, Odd News, WTF?
Tags: Birds, Kooks, MSNBC
Comments (13)
Must be related to "Global ... (Below threshold)1. Posted by Neo | January 2, 2011 12:23 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
Must be related to "Global Climate Disruption" because GCD is the best reason for the "PC set."
1. Posted by Neo | January 2, 2011 12:23 PM |
Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
Posted on January 2, 2011 12:23
2. Posted by G. | January 2, 2011 1:34 PM | Score: 5 (5 votes cast)
You're right on with the global warming thing Shawn, please update when they start with that, laughing at these morons is one of the wife's and my favorite pastimes.
2. Posted by G. | January 2, 2011 1:34 PM |
Score: 5 (5 votes cast)
Posted on January 2, 2011 13:34
3. Posted by JLawson | January 2, 2011 1:56 PM | Score: 4 (4 votes cast)
I've never been able to give the 'chemtrails' folks any sort of belief - since IF such a conspiracy were going on it'd have to have begun way back as soon as aircraft were going into the stratosphere.
It's real simple - burning gas and/or JP4 or pretty much any other high energy propellant you can name has SOME moisture as a byproduct. Right temperature and humidity conditions at altitude and the moisture out of the exhaust freezes into ice crystals. Nice, shiny, reflective ice crystals, that linger as contrails. If conditions aren't right, contrails won't form.
Sadly, my own father's gotten to the point where he believes the chemtrail bullshit... There's no proof, of course, but when has that ever stopped a conspiracy nut? That there's no proof means it must have happened.
3. Posted by JLawson | January 2, 2011 1:56 PM |
Score: 4 (4 votes cast)
Posted on January 2, 2011 13:56
4. Posted by GarandFan | January 2, 2011 3:39 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
We're ALL gonna DIE!
Film at 11.
The loons need something to tide them over until the END OF THE WORLD in 2012 - as foretold by the Aztec's.
4. Posted by GarandFan | January 2, 2011 3:39 PM |
Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
Posted on January 2, 2011 15:39
5. Posted by iwogisdead | January 2, 2011 5:09 PM | Score: -1 (3 votes cast)
It's Bush's fault.
5. Posted by iwogisdead | January 2, 2011 5:09 PM |
Score: -1 (3 votes cast)
Posted on January 2, 2011 17:09
6. Posted by retired military | January 2, 2011 5:45 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
It has to be global warming. If you dont believe me why just ask Al Gore but you have to catch him before he gets in his SUV to be driven to the airport for him to fly to his next global warming conference in a private jet.
6. Posted by retired military | January 2, 2011 5:45 PM |
Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
Posted on January 2, 2011 17:45
7. Posted by Andrew X | January 2, 2011 5:51 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Still.... that is a little spooky weird.
7. Posted by Andrew X | January 2, 2011 5:51 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on January 2, 2011 17:51
8. Posted by RFA | January 2, 2011 7:07 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Can't wait to see the BB-Q these folks come up with!
8. Posted by RFA | January 2, 2011 7:07 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on January 2, 2011 19:07
9. Posted by Jim Addison | January 3, 2011 12:23 AM | Score: 0 (2 votes cast)
It isn't just the nuts who see absence of evidence as evidence - wasn't it Tom Foley who argued to investigate the alleged secret SR-71 trip to Spain by VP nominee George Bush during the 1980 campaign, during which he supposedly convinced the mullahs to keep the hostages after the election by saying, "It is precisely because there is no evidence that we need to investigate!"?
~~~~~~~~
The mistake on the species is AP's fault - their subscribers just republish the feed, they don't re-investigate the story, that's the whole point of a wire service.
9. Posted by Jim Addison | January 3, 2011 12:23 AM |
Score: 0 (2 votes cast)
Posted on January 3, 2011 00:23
10. Posted by Razorgirl | January 3, 2011 9:59 AM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Living just 20 miles from where the Cincinnati, AR tornado took place in NW Arkansas in the early a.m. hours Friday morning, I have to wonder if maybe these birds were involved and carried in an easterly direction by the winds and storms to be dropped in the Beebe area later that same day? Hmmmm.... Is it possible?
10. Posted by Razorgirl | January 3, 2011 9:59 AM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on January 3, 2011 09:59
11. Posted by Katie | January 5, 2011 12:56 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Are you in 6th grade? Birds of a feather, drop together? It's not funny you idiot.
11. Posted by Katie | January 5, 2011 12:56 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on January 5, 2011 00:56
12. Posted by Judy | January 5, 2011 2:32 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Avitrol® is a registered chemical frightening agent for blackbirds in corn and sunflower fields. One out of every 100 particles of cracked-corn bait is treated with the chemical, 4-amino-pyridine. The bait is applied to fields in swaths, often by airplane, at the rate of 3 pounds per acre (3.3 kg/ha) to one-third of the field. The ingestion of one or more treated particles by a blackbird induces erratic flight, distress calls, and usually death. This behavior often causes the remaining birds in the flock to leave the field.
12. Posted by Judy | January 5, 2011 2:32 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on January 5, 2011 02:32
13. Posted by Shawn | January 5, 2011 7:48 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Great input to the running commentary, Katie!
You know what?
You are so right..
Thank you for giving me hope and helping me to see the folly of my ways.
You have inspired me to become just like you!
By the way, next time you go food shopping, humor is down aisle 9, right next to the rat poison.
Freaking hag.
13. Posted by Shawn | January 5, 2011 7:48 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on January 5, 2011 07:48