Dead birds now in Sweden

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   Swedish birds 'scared to death': veterinarian

Published: 5 Jan 11 12:43 CET | Double click on a word to get a translation 
Updated: 5 Jan 11 13:15 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/31262/20110105/
A county veterinarian has speculated that the birds that fell from the sky in central Sweden on Tuesday may have been frightened by fireworks, then run over by a car after landing on the road in the dark.

midnight on Tuesday, residents found 50 to 100 jackdaws on a street in Falköping southeast of Skövde. The incident echoed a number of unexplained incidents earlier this week across the southern US.

County veterinarian Robert ter Horst believes that the birds may have been literally scared to death by fireworks set off on Tuesday night.

"We have received information from local residents last night. Our main theory is that the birds were scared away because of the fireworks and landed on the road, but couldn't fly away from the stress and were hit by a car," he explained to The Local on Wednesday.

He added that they likely had difficulty orienting themselves in the dark and although they have received one report involving a car collision with the birds, ter Horst believes they may have been hit by more.

"We will continue to look at whether there are other theories, but then we have to do an autopsy on the birds. The birds just now are in a car on the way to a laboratory in Uppsala. We don't know exactly what happened yet, but we will continue the investigation," he added.

ter Horst noted that he has also received some reports about pigeons, but the incident has happened too quickly to assume that it is related to the untimely demise of the jackdaws.

The site where the birds were found has now been blocked for a veterinary inspection of the birds. Emergency services had cordoned off the area earlier on Wednesday.

According to Sveriges Radio Skaraborg, these are between 50 and 100 dead birds.

Anders Wirdheim of the Swedish Ornithological Society (Sveriges ornitologiska förening, SOF) believes the jackdaws likely were frightened in the middle of the night, then flew around in the dark and collided with various objects.

"Jackdaws spend the night in trees in large flocks. If they are frightened, hundreds of birds could take flight at once," he told TT.

Wirdheim noted that the affected bird species in the US are also those who spend the night in large flocks. He added that the birds' situation may have aggravated because they are weakened.

"This winter has been unusually tough and jackdaws may be in poor condition. That makes it easier for them to fly into different objects. There is very little food in the wild compared with previous years and I see dying birds every day," he said.

Olov Andersson, the director of communications at the National Veterinary Institute (Statens veterinärmedicinska anstalt, SVA) in Uppsala, said the samples will arrive in several hours by delivery service depending on the weather.

He added that he hopes the animals are not crushed by car wheels or injured by cats and dogs. The animal carcasses will be examined anatomically. Bacterial and viral samples will be taken, as well as tests for avian flu.

"We may have results late on Friday or early next week," he said.

On New Year's Eve, an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 blackbirds tumbled from the sky on an Arkansas town shortly before midnight on New Year's Eve.

Separately, 500 birds plummeted to the ground 580 kilometres away in Louisiana on Monday and a Kentucky woman reported finding dozens of dead birds in her yard.

Speculation on the causes of the US bird deaths has ranged from fireworks, the weather, noxious fumes or a "sonic boom."

In addition, up to 100,000 dead and dying drum fish have washed up in the Arkansas River and tens of thousands of dead fish have been found in the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.

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waterboy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Valued Member Joined: January 21 2008 Status: Offline Points: 8170	Post Options Post Reply Quote waterboy Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Dead birds now in Sweden Posted: January 05 2011 at 5:06am
	Swedish birds 'scared to death': veterinarian Published: 5 Jan 11 12:43 CET \| Double click on a word to get a translation Updated: 5 Jan 11 13:15 CET Online: http://www.thelocal.se/31262/20110105/ A county veterinarian has speculated that the birds that fell from the sky in central Sweden on Tuesday may have been frightened by fireworks, then run over by a car after landing on the road in the dark. midnight on Tuesday, residents found 50 to 100 jackdaws on a street in Falköping southeast of Skövde. The incident echoed a number of unexplained incidents earlier this week across the southern US. County veterinarian Robert ter Horst believes that the birds may have been literally scared to death by fireworks set off on Tuesday night. "We have received information from local residents last night. Our main theory is that the birds were scared away because of the fireworks and landed on the road, but couldn't fly away from the stress and were hit by a car," he explained to The Local on Wednesday. He added that they likely had difficulty orienting themselves in the dark and although they have received one report involving a car collision with the birds, ter Horst believes they may have been hit by more. "We will continue to look at whether there are other theories, but then we have to do an autopsy on the birds. The birds just now are in a car on the way to a laboratory in Uppsala. We don't know exactly what happened yet, but we will continue the investigation," he added. ter Horst noted that he has also received some reports about pigeons, but the incident has happened too quickly to assume that it is related to the untimely demise of the jackdaws. The site where the birds were found has now been blocked for a veterinary inspection of the birds. Emergency services had cordoned off the area earlier on Wednesday. According to Sveriges Radio Skaraborg, these are between 50 and 100 dead birds. Anders Wirdheim of the Swedish Ornithological Society (Sveriges ornitologiska förening, SOF) believes the jackdaws likely were frightened in the middle of the night, then flew around in the dark and collided with various objects. "Jackdaws spend the night in trees in large flocks. If they are frightened, hundreds of birds could take flight at once," he told TT. Wirdheim noted that the affected bird species in the US are also those who spend the night in large flocks. He added that the birds' situation may have aggravated because they are weakened. "This winter has been unusually tough and jackdaws may be in poor condition. That makes it easier for them to fly into different objects. There is very little food in the wild compared with previous years and I see dying birds every day," he said. Olov Andersson, the director of communications at the National Veterinary Institute (Statens veterinärmedicinska anstalt, SVA) in Uppsala, said the samples will arrive in several hours by delivery service depending on the weather. He added that he hopes the animals are not crushed by car wheels or injured by cats and dogs. The animal carcasses will be examined anatomically. Bacterial and viral samples will be taken, as well as tests for avian flu. "We may have results late on Friday or early next week," he said. On New Year's Eve, an estimated 4,000 to 5,000 blackbirds tumbled from the sky on an Arkansas town shortly before midnight on New Year's Eve. Separately, 500 birds plummeted to the ground 580 kilometres away in Louisiana on Monday and a Kentucky woman reported finding dozens of dead birds in her yard. Speculation on the causes of the US bird deaths has ranged from fireworks, the weather, noxious fumes or a "sonic boom." In addition, up to 100,000 dead and dying drum fish have washed up in the Arkansas River and tens of thousands of dead fish have been found in the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.

sleusha Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: November 11 2009 Status: Offline Points: 2660	Post Options Post Reply Quote sleusha Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 05 2011 at 5:08pm
	Seems that the birds were scared to death in AR, LA, TN, TX, KY, Sweden, Chili, NZ.... I guess the fish were scared to death also.. so scared that one breed of fishes eyes popped out.

Guests Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Group	Post Options Post Reply Quote Guests Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 05 2011 at 6:41pm
	Ok, so when does the WHO and or the CDC get concerned about all of these strange deaths? Scared to Death...give me a break. When has this happened in the past. Some of you researchers please see if this has ever happened and when. Learn from our past to survive in the future.

sleusha Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: November 11 2009 Status: Offline Points: 2660	Post Options Post Reply Quote sleusha Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 05 2011 at 6:45pm
	It would be nice to have a scientific explanation, and if it's "common", it would be nice to see some historic examples of this magnitude.

doncorti Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Valued Member Joined: December 26 2010 Status: Offline Points: 1	Post Options Post Reply Quote doncorti Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 17 2011 at 3:52am
	@sleusha - it would be nice, but we will never get those infos..
	traslados londres londra stansted habitaciones londres

coyote Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: April 25 2007 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 8395	Post Options Post Reply Quote coyote Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 17 2011 at 9:28am
	Animal protection authorities are pulling "bagfuls of dead birds" from Auckland's waterways as the warm, sticky summer compounds the spread of a toxin outbreak. Hundreds of dead or sick birds suffering from paralysing disease botulism have been found by officials or handed in to animal shelters. In one case, the SPCA has spent days pulling several species of dead and dying fowl from a disused quarry in South Auckland. Auckland SPCA inspector Vicki Border said the current outbreak of avian botulism was the worst she had observed in Auckland. www.nzherald.co.nz...
	Long time lurker since day one to Member.

Elver Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Valued Member Joined: June 14 2008 Status: Offline Points: 7778	Post Options Post Reply Quote Elver Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: January 17 2011 at 10:27pm
	This link has a good summation of bird, animal, & fish deaths so far. http://www.naturalnews.com/031041_animal_deaths_timeline.html Add to this, hundreds of dead seals in Labrador. http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2011/01/17/nl-dead-seals-117.html See also: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2011/01/06/1433531/fact-check-mass-bird-fish-deaths.html So what's happening this time? Technology leads to mass reporting of these events and leads people believe this is unusual.