Large bird kill reported near Geyserville

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT ^ | January 10th, 2011 | RANDI ROSSMANN

[Gennie]

Large bird kill reported near Geyserville

Posted by PD on January 10th, 2011



By RANDI ROSSMANN

THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

While scientists and specialists are investigating why massive numbers of birds have dropped dead from the sky elsewhere in the country, Sonoma County now has its own bird deaths mystery to solve, reported the CHP.

More than 100 birds were found dead Saturday afternoon clustered on the ground off of Highway 101, south of Geyserville, Officer Jon Sloat reported Monday.

Officers responded to Independence Lane at about 2:30 p.m. Saturday and found dozens of birds dead on and around the roadway.

The California Department of Fish and Game was notified and a local warden responded. He took several of the birds away to be identified and tested by a biologist, Sloat said.

The birds all appeared to be the same type, small with feathers in brown and black, according to photos taken by officers.

The birds hadn’t been shot and most were intact, officers reported.

What caused the deaths wasn’t clear Saturday.

Immediate attempts to reach Fish and Game were not successful.

One theory was that the birds were hit by a semi truck, but that was just speculation and perhaps unlikely given the large number of birds, officers reported.

Much larger cases of birds dying at the same time have occurred recently in Arkansas and Louisiana.

On New Year’s Eve as many as 5,000 red-winged blackbirds fell from the sky in Central Arkansas.

More recently, about 500 birds were found in Pointe Coupee Parish in Louisiana, about 300 miles from the Arkansas bird deaths.

Scientists and wildlife officials are attempting to determine what happened.

[meowmeow]

read view mirror = rear view mirror.

more coffee...

[ScottinVA]

a large flock of sparrows made a tactical error and swooped right down in front of me.

I had a similar situation happen to me on the Colonial Parkway near Williamsburg, VA. It was only a small handful of them, but for some reason they decided to light on the road when my ETA was .5 seconds. Way too late to maneuver to avoid them -- I tried to hit the brakes but ended up taking out the whole lot of them anyway.

But hundreds, sometimes thousands of birds inexplicably dropping from the sky is nothing short of weird.

[TaraP]

Thanks!

I just posted anoter article..Same Story!

very strange....

[Mike Darancette]

Geyserville, the name says it all. Lots of earthquakes volcanic activity up there. Remember this “bird” event if there is an earthquake or eruption.

[Wuli]

It’s “global cooling”.

Birds have seasonal migrating patterns. The patterns begin “locally” and over time, as warming/cooling cycles come and go, become larger in distance between different seasonal grounds or may narrow when conditions remain favorable, over a long period time.

The oldest and youngest birds are less fit and less able to adjust quickly when rapid changes upset their expected seasonal living patterns.

This year has presented sudden and extreme (by recent past standards) cooling conditions - by local standards - in many parts of the country, causing large numbers of fish and fowl to die; unable to move quickly enough out of the cold.

Just my guess.

[RipSawyer]

No blackbirds were killed during the filming of this happening.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0HhHva8ZcY