Thousands of Birds and Fish Drop Dead in Arkansas on New Year

New York City may have had the glitziest ball drop to ring in the New Year, but Beebe, Arkansas, took the cake in the weird department: shortly before midnight, thousands of blackbirds began dropping dead out of the sky!

Around 11 that night, thousands of red-winged blackbirds began falling out of the sky over this small city about 35 miles northeast of Little Rock. They landed on roofs, roads, front lawns and backyards, turning the ground nearly black and terrifying anyone who happened to be outside. [...]

The cause is still being determined, but preliminary lab results from the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission revealed “acute physical trauma” in samples of the dead birds. There were no indications of disease, though tests were still being done for the presence of toxic chemicals.

Link (Photo:Stephen B. Thornton/The Arkansas Democrat Gazette)

Adding to the mystery, over 100,000 fish washed up dead on the banks of the Arkansas River, near Ozark - about 125 miles from Beebe:

Travis Harmon of the Department of Environmental Quality said: 'Barges reported passing up river and churning up dead fish from the bottom of the river.

'A single species is killed, and we don't know the cause. If it was toxic, other species would be affected.'

Link

So, is this a premonition of sort for 2011? What do you think killed all those birds and fish? What's going on, Arkansas?


I am going to guess that the flock was passing the area and someone sent up a huge, deafening show of (ever so wonderfully not safe nor sane) fireworks. The sudden noise and bright lights, quite possibly directly around them, were too much stress and concussive force.
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I would say "hey, algal blooms strike again", since that's what caused all those poisoned birds that inspired "The Birds".

But these are pretty far apart, and why would only one fish species be targeted?

Clearly, it's a pestilence directed among the most evil of species, and should therefore be taken as a sign of the coming apocalypse. :P
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I read that the type of fish are bottom feeding. Maybe there is increase of activity along the New Madrid Fault Line and there might soon be seismic activity from there. Earthquakes from there would be a real bad thing!
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You're all wrong. Having once driven diagonally across the state of Arkansas, I can attest that the boredom is almost lethal. These birds were obviously bored to death while migrating south.
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@Brent, if this was from the fireworks, we would see birds falling out of the sky all the time around the 4th of July and New Year... and what about the hundreds of thousands of dead fish in the same region?
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As a geologist, I know that movement of magma beneath the surface can affect the magnetic field. As well, pressure on rocks and minerals can generate energy affecting the magnetic field as well. Birds and fishes travelling in large groups need a "sixth sens" to syncrhonize their movement, taking a turn in armony and avoiding colisions. I believe that changes in the magnetic field may have affect comunication between individual and may cause them to crash again each other. Birds dying in Arkansas and Kentucky were close in time and space to small earthquake (see USGS web site). I can't say about those in Louisiana. However, in the eastern part of US, there are lots of near surface geological activities, expressed by hot spring, particularely abundant in Yellowstone. It is know that a huge magma reservoir held bellow the Yellowstone park and volcanoes may appears in this region in a short. The source of the activity is related to Western coast: the subduction of the Pacific ocean tectonic plate is sliding beneath the US and is remelted somewhere in the Eastern part... However, geological cataclyst can appen any time but can stop almost completely for several hundreds years. The correlation between earthquake and dead birds site is my best argument, however, a magma movement several km beneath the surface may not necessary produce perceptibles earthquake. Does all the dead birds and fish were found? Maybe others thousands died in forest or field far from civilization... Hollywood are sometime based (or partially) true strengh of our Earth. Story to follow! I'll be watching eartquake activities and other animals strange death!
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if people would just pick up a bible!!!! Look at the signs!! Their not dying cause of polluted air or toxic oceans. It's Jesus trying to tell us something! We all have our religions and beliefs, but this is my opinion.
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Right, Britani. That must be the most logical explanation.

There's clearly something funky going on, but I am over nine-thousand percent sure it isn't some angry sky daddy ghost trying to tell us something. Give me a break.
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BP and the oil spill....it was just a matter of time before s**t hit the fan, im surprised it didnt happen sooner. The world is ending as we know it, and food is about to be scarace. Cattle deaths now approaching Canada. Thanks BP, hope u rot in Hell
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i agree with britani i dont want to believe it but i think its true. the world may be ending its the only clear explination that really make since..... read the bible people alot of things thats going on today is explained in the book of revelations
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