CNN International says 4 to 5 thousand birds fell in Arkansas.

[madfloridian]

Other sources say around a thousand. That's a huge difference.

Arkansas game officials probe mystery of falling birds

(CNN) -- Arkansas game officials hope testing scheduled to begin Monday will solve the mystery of why up to 5,000 blackbirds fell from the sky just before midnight New Year's Eve.

The birds -- most of which were dead -- were found within a one-mile area of Beebe, about 40 miles northeast of Little Rock, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said. The blackbirds fell over about a one-mile area, the commission said in a statement.

As of Saturday, between 4,000 and 5,000 blackbirds had been found dead, said Keith Stephens with the commission.

"Shortly after I arrived, there were still birds falling from the sky," said commission wildlife officer Robby King in the statement. He said he collected about 65 dead birds.

They are the beautiful red-winged blackbirds, not crows. This is sad. Wonder about the difference in numbers.

[virgogal]

1. I would find it sad even if they were crows. What does beauty

have to do with it?

[theophilus]

3. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Crows are beautiful, too. But we need

to understand likes and dislikes. It is a tragedy and I just hope we learn the truth. It won't be "good", I'll bet. Either climate change or ? There are many fewer birds now than in years past, I believe, we can't afford to lose thousands even to natural causes.

[madfloridian]

5. It's just a comment I made without any deep meaning.

Ok?

Want to argue, find someone else.

[LaurenG]

2. and fish in the Arkansas river

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4680823 ... each just one species.

[madfloridian]

6. Now that is scary.

and so sad.

[Toucano]

13. Actually, it's starlings and red-winged blackbirds.

There are two species of birds affected, according to the report.

[Edweird]

4. Pine Bluff Arsenal is due South of Beebe.

[PacerLJ35]

7. Quite a bit south of Beebe

You'd think they would be having this trouble there if it's causing any problems with the atmosphere...in any case, just because a facility is run by the DoD is nearby doesn't mean it's time to cart out the conspiracy theories.

[Savage1]

11. Pine Bluff, AR chemical weapons disposal / 1 hr south of Beebe

Since Pine Bluff decommissioned the last of its mustard gas in Nov 2010, one COULD conclude that would mean that the US Military's Pine Bluff's arsenal proximity to Beebe, AR has nothing to do with the birds dying. I note further that red-wing blackbirds generally prefer wetlands. If they were feeding near the Arkansas River near Ozark, AR, then maybe what affected the 100,000 dead drum fish also affected the black birds. I am skeptical that a super-sudden disease killed all the drum fish and very skeptical that the redwing black birds were killed by lightning (no burned birds) or struck by some funky "high altitude" hail, nor that fireworks brought them down....come on now, almost everyone of us have been around fireworks and have seen no such thing. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission knows these things full well...they should not be perpetuating bizarre BS. The birds and fish both need to be promptly analyzed by quite a few independent laboratories for large range of parameters including toxins. Additionally,ground and water samples in the immediate area and adjacent unaffected areas need to collected and results compared. I encourage local residents to collect remaining samples and find some local private labs they trust to some testing/experimenting to get to the crux.

[PacerLJ35]

12. I live in LR, I know where PBA is...

So you're saying that somehow the mustard gas must have made its way UPstream and poisoned the area around Ozark, etc etc.

Regarding PBA, my mom is an environmental scientist, ground water expert and project manager and did some of the work there getting rid of the old munitions. They are required to drill monitoring wells and do a wide variety of tests and sampling. You act as though the government just got rid of the stuff in secret...the work was bid out to a variety of environmental remediation firms, and they did the actual work under supervision of DoD, EPA and other agencies. It wasn't easy work since so many different government agencies had their hand in the pie and had a role in oversight.

Regarding high altitude hail, how do you think hail is formed? Hail isn't just a low altitude phenomenon. It's created by water droplets constantly being recycled through the higher altitudes and accreting more ice until it forms hail and falls to the ground. I know first hand because I've flown an airplane and been hit by hail as high as 20,000 feet...and hail is known to occur well above that.

[Savage1]

23. mustard gas

PacerLJ35: Thank you for your review.

Not at all saying mustard gas was the culprit, but indeed I am implying quite well that it is premature to rule it out (along with countless other valid ideas) without more information. I do ponder a point... If our government is so cool and nice, and all sorts of hands in the pie, and who knows where else, what the hell was we-the-people doing WITH mustard gas to begin with. Awe, that is right, we "mustered" it away from Iraq. Too bad I know this stuff has been made in more-than-research-quantities in none other than bible-thumping USA.

I am an environmental scientist as well, and actively so. I once had the passion and blinding faith you have in the government's mastery of "managing" the environment. Please do note, I so very strongly and kindly appreciate your mother's work. But do realize I have worked in hazardous waste remediation projects including, but not limited to, those involved with radioactive materials, nerve gas, pesticides, herbicides, and other biocides.

The red-wing blackbirds here are not the high flying military Blackbird types. Where was the day-old tornadoes hanging out ... hovering somewhere out there a day later to dump out its catch of stone-to-death Stephen red-winged-black-birds. Is it possible, sure. But I find jumping to easy conclusions, the easy way out.

[Maru Kitteh]

16. So let me get this straight: you're calling for a process guided by evidence,

logic and patience instead of knee-jerk speculation and personal misgivings? What kind of crazy person are you? That's too hard.

[IDemo]

8. Red-winged blackbirds have a very distinct call

We get them in our backyard during the warm months, along with numerous other species.

This begins to sound like an 'Andromeda Syndrome' event, but will likely turn out to be two completely separate incidents with a rare synchronization.

[Still Blue in PDX]

9. We had hundreds of red-winged blackbirds on my work campus a few years ago.

Didn't see any this past spring when they are normally nesting.

[Jamastiene]

10. Now, I am beginning to wonder which it is.

Is it about a thousand or lots more? I guess it's the conspiracy theorist in me wondering. I should just accept that some birds fell and some fish died and they were totally unrelated incidents. One was hail killing the birds and the other was just a mass Jim Jones style fish suicide or something. Right? :tinfoilhat:

[BlueJazz]

15. You know, people wouldn't have suspicions that they are being lied to..

...if not the fact that we are lied to constantly.
One of my friends said (awhile ago..about the fish and birds) "Aw..You're just being Paranoid"
I told him "Maybe you just don't know what's going on"

[Jamastiene]

18. True.

I get called a conspiracy theorist a lot, but there has to be some reason both of these things happened so closely together in the same state. Granted, I keep seeing where someone posted that they were a hundred or so miles apart, but still...it's eerie. There has to be an explanation for both. I will not be surprised if it turns out to be related.

[Toucano]

14. I think the article has been updated since this post: speculation about fireworks.

Officials also speculated that fireworks shot by New Year's revelers in the area might have caused severe stress in the birds. Rowe said Sunday there was evidence that large fireworks may have played a role.

I've always hated fireworks.

[ladjf]

21. I seriously doubt the "fireworks" theory. I've never heard of that

happening anywhere else although fireworks are discharged all over the world. nt

[Eddie Haskell]

17. Birds

Sounds like a gas release, but could it be natural gas? Have there been any quakes in the region?

Could be: http://www.wibw.com/nationalnews/headlines/Arkansas_Earthquakes_111815534.html

[malaise]

19. GEM$NBC says it could be 5,000

and also mentioned the fireworks.

[ladjf]

20. My guess is that a large runoff of pesticides brought on by

massive rains will be involved in this kill. nt

[Savage1]

24. pesticides

possible... reportedly, according to the Arkansas Fish and Game commission, all 5,000 birds had not eaten anything.. their stomachs were empty. One could surmise that there could be not food poisoning and that the birds were on E, and so simply crashed and burned. I find it highly improbable that none of the birds had eaten a damn thing in god only knows ho long; but if so, the possibility of respiratory inhalation of something

The federal government recommends a maximum concentration for long-term exposure to sulfur mustard by the general population of 0.00002 milligrams per cubic meter of air (0.00002 mg/m3). As the molecular weight of mustard gas, this amounts to approximately 0.0000031 parts per million (3.1 ppt ...parts per trillion). This is for people who are commonly known to be much bigger than birds. Birds may have a recommend LTE limit in parts per quadrillion.

http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/roc/eleventh/profiles/s116must.pdf

[EnviroBat]

22. I'm having a dificult time accepting the explanations that are being

theorized currently. Fireworks? Lightning? A strong storm? Why is this the first we've heard about such a tragic event. There have surely been fireworks at midnight in previous years. There most certainly been storms at midnight. But 5000 red-winged black birds rain dead from the sky within the same one mile radius? Something isn't right about this. I wonder if we'll ever know the truth...?