Remember the story that rippled through the World Wide Web six months ago about 5,000 red-winged blackbirds found dead in Windwood near Beebe, Arkansas? It happened on New Years Eve and had an eerie X-Files quality.
The truth is out there.
And Dr. Louise Conrad, veterinarian at Ijams Nature Center, found it. She pointed out an article in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) that concluded the birds all died of blunt-force trauma, more than likely from flying into objects near the ground. Three independent laboratories ruled out bacteria, viruses, heavy metals, pesticides and avicides or anything else Fox Mulderish.
The article states, "Blackbirds have poor night vision and typically do not fly after dusk. Wildlife officials theorize that fireworks [a display to celebrate the New Year] forced the startled birds to fly at a lower altitude than normal. Windwood residents did observe the birds flying at rooftop level, and flying into structures and other objects."
It's OK Fox, there's other cases to work on.
It's OK Fox, there's other cases to work on.
•
1 comment:
So glad somebody followed up. But a number of other mysteries happened at about the same time, including some massive fish kills. Are those still unsolved?
Post a Comment