100s of 1000s of migratory birds found in dead in NM. "a very large event", maybe millions

[Demovictory9]

Biologists at New Mexico State University are trying to find out why hundreds of thousands of migratory birds have been found dead across the state.



The mystery started August 20 with the discovery of a large number of dead birds at the US Army White Sands Missile Range and White Sands National Monument, according to Martha Desmond, a professor at the university's department of fish, wildlife and conservation ecology.

What was first believed to be an isolated incident turned out to be a much more serious problem when hundreds more dead birds were found in regions across the state. including Doña Ana County, Jemez Pueblo, Roswell and Socorro.

"It's just terrible," Desmond told CNN. "The number is in the six figures. Just by looking at the scope of what we're seeing, we know this is a very large event, hundreds of thousands and maybe even millions of dead birds, and we're looking at the higher end of that."

F
Dead migratory birds -- which include species such as warblers, bluebirds, sparrows, blackbirds, the western wood pewee and flycatchers -- are also being found in Colorado, Texas and Mexico.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/14/us/new-mexico-birds-died-migration-trnd/index.html

[Ferrets are Cool]

1. Every damn day is another "JUST FUCK" event

[hlthe2b]

2. shit... I've been seeing some in Colorado. At first I thought raptors had knocked them off.. or WNV

but, this is disturbing as hell.

[Demovictory9]

4. it's being called a massive bird die off. Dying in "unprecedented" numbers.

https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/2020/09/14/new-mexico-researchers-gather-info-public-massive-migratory-bird-die-off/5792102002/

Reports from around the state indicate migratory species are dying in numbers described as "unprecedented" Saturday by Martha Desmond, a professor in the university's department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Ecology.

Last weekend, biologists from NMSU and White Sands Missile Range examined nearly 300 carcasses gathered at the range and in Doña Ana County, but based on photos, videos and written observations from locations statewide, professor Martha Desmond anticipates the casualties are in the hundreds of thousands, "if not millions."

On golf courses, hiking areas and residential neighborhoods, residents have reported birds of migratory species dying in groups and living birds exhibiting lethargic and unusual behavior — not eating, flying low or gathering on the ground and being hit by vehicles.

The affected birds included both insect- and seed-eaters, but did not appear to include resident species such as roadrunner or quail.

[Initech]

24. It's like every imaginable version of hell is being unleashed upon us at once.

[DSandra]

43. If we could only go back in time and contain the source before it festered...

[nancy1942]

3. Horrible.

It just keeps getting worse.

[cilla4progress]

5. Can this please

not be true?

[BComplex]

6. Migratory birds? WTF?

What in the world is going on?

[PatSeg]

37. I think climate change and the wildfires

could be the cause. It is mentioned in the article as well.

[Grokenstein]

7. Pretty sure wind turbines--I mean, "windmills"--didn't do it.

These are canaries in the coal mine.
Except the "coal mine" is the entire damn planet.

[dweller]

8. every once awhile i have to post this poem ...

The Delicate Plummeting Bodies

https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.poemhunter.com/poem-amp/the-delicate-plummeting-bodies/

worth the read
✌🏼

[littlemissmartypants]

25. ❤ Cross posted.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1199975

[Miguelito Loveless]

9. Heat has reached the tipping point?

[alittlelark]

13. It's been unseasonably cold here.

[triron]

16. Colorado too.

[Miguelito Loveless]

20. Well, whatever it is

does not bode well for humanity.

[ItsjustMe]

10. It started near a Military base

Could It be a biological test of some kind, for a biological weapon.

[Hekate]

19. Or one of the sonar weapons?

They are known to harm whales and porpoises by disrupting their ability to echolocate.

Gods, this is awful, whatever caused it.

[Ferrets are Cool]

35. Military related was my FIRST thought

[MustLoveBeagles]

11. Poor things

[alittlelark]

12. I found 2 in my yard yesterday.

It was odd, neither one was near a window. We have many birds of prey out here, but they don't leave corpses, just feathers.

[3Hotdogs]

14. Air pollution from the fires?

[mr_lebowski]

22. Of all things that should be relatively easy to determine as a common cause ... nt

[rwsanders]

26. I'm wondering if the fires drove them from their normal migratory pathway in CA and they couldn't

find food or water, or the desert environment was too cold.
But a direct effect of the smoke is certainly plausible.

[roamer65]

15. But one species of mammal keeps on multiplying.

That is the core problem.

[Duppers]

27. +100 / Exactly

[ecstatic]

17. Could it be a bird pandemic? nt

[Klaralven]

32. Avian flu?

[lunasun]

18. Please provide info to Southwest bird mortality is you have any findings to add . This is real

Here is the link
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/southwest-avian-mortality-project
All info will help and the death spreads over more than NM

Link to tweet

?s=21

[BusyBeingBest]

21. I have a house and yard pretty much devoted to birds--

I have observed most of the species they mention in my yard. Colorado snowstorm and three full miserable days of cold really was a hardship for migratory insect eaters--they usually are through here and gone well before the snow flies and such cold temps are sustained. Right before that was the godawful smoke from northern CO. Might not be the only factors, but probably contributed. It's sad as hell.

[Bayard]

23. Damn!

Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn!


Distressing beyond words. Damn!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

28. Hmm. I live in New Mexico. I have not seen dead birds.

Actually, in my somewhat long life (I recently turned 72) I can recall exactly one and one only incident where I saw a dead bird on the sidewalk. That would have been sometime between 2000 and 2006 or so.

I will repeat, one and only one dead bird. What exactly am I missing?

[womanofthehills]

30. I live in NM too and I haven't seen any dead birds

I live rural in the middle of the state but I usually have lots of ravens and have been wondering where they have been the past days. Not good - makes me worry about toxins.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

31. I also read stuff about how cats kill millions of birds every year. And how

wind turbines also kill vast numbers of birds every year. Somehow, I am not convinced.

[triron]

48. Agree. I could count on 1 hand I've seen my entire time here (most of my 74 years).

[radius777]

29. Awful. Man is killing the earth.

[leftyladyfrommo]

33. Birds can't handle smoke.

If you have a pet bird it will die if you burn scented candles.

[Vinca]

34. It must be from the fires. It's destroying the quality of the air. Very sad.

[MineralMan]

36. Most likely it is the smoke from the forest fires.

It is finally arriving even in Minnesota now.

[Demovictory9]

39. wow... all the way to Minnesota!!

[MineralMan]

40. Yup. The sky is yellowish today.

[Demovictory9]

44. You are getting a little piece of California!!

[MineralMan]

47. Probably a piece of Oregon.

I'm watching the jet stream, which brings such things to me.

[Demovictory9]

52. true

[Withywindle]

41. The sky has been a weird color at least as far east as Chicago n/t

[Demovictory9]

45. Wow

[a kennedy]

49. I live in Southeast MN and our air has been hazy since Monday.....

Last edited Wed Sep 16, 2020, 11:53 AM - Edit history (1)

sunshine is really diminished because of the smoke.......so weird looking.

[MineralMan]

50. Yes. Fortunately the smoke is at high altitude

for now. If it drops down, we'll be smelling it, too.

[Goodheart]

38. This made me cry

[lindysalsagal]

42. Is smoke from the fires blowing that way?

They say it reached the east coast today.

[Awsi Dooger]

46. It has to be lung related and from the fires

That's the only thing that makes sense to me at first glance

[LAS14]

51. What about COVID-19? It originated in bats. But smoke is more likely, I guess. nt