How to Recognise Avian Influenza
What to look for
Ruffled feathers
Soft-shelled eggs
Depression and droopiness
Sudden drop in egg production
Loss of appetite
Cyanosis (purplish-blue coloring) of wattles and comb
Edema and swelling of head, eyelids, comb, wattles, and hocks
Green diarrhoea
Blood-tinged discharge from nostrils
Incoordination, including loss of ability to walk and stand
Pin-point hemorrhages (most easily seen on the feet and shanks)
Respiratory distress
Increased death losses in a flock
Sudden death
Nasal discharges
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/diseaseinfo/62/avian-influenzahighly-pathogenic-hpai-fowl-plague
I would be surprised this is avian flu...
Seems to me that a flu or some other disorder isn't likely to strike a huge number of birds all at the same instant. Disease would tend to move through a population over some period of days or weeks.
I went looking, too......I found this article was reprinted in the Dallas Biz Journal only 10 days ago on Dec 29, which allows me to wonder if todays incident was contrived by some treehugger types.....
Making windmills friendly to birds
Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle) - December 29, 2006
by Deirdre Gregg
Staff Writer
Almost a decade ago, Mike Denny and other members of the Blue Mountain Audubon Society in Walla Walla started hearing about proposed wind projects in their area.
Like many Audubon members, Denny had concerns about how wind farms would affect birds and bats. But he also knew that wind energy was a cleaner source of power than sources such as coal-fired power plants, which generate tons of particulate matter and contribute to global warming.
"We decided it was put up or shut up time," he said. "We had been vociferous about support of clean renewable energy."
Denny decided the best way to get his concerns addressed was to work with wind power developers. Since the construction of the Stateline wind project near Walla Walla, the first wind farm in Washington, Denny has served as a volunteer on advisory committees for wind energy projects.
His position is in line with that of the Washington state and national Audubon societies. Nina Carter, executive director for Audubon Washington, noted that the group supports wind power as long as turbines are sited properly.
"Just like putting up dams for hydropower affects salmon, depending on where you put them and how you build them and operate them, we have to ask the same questions about wind power and birds and bats," she said.
Although wind turbines are massive structures, hundreds of feet high with blades longer than two Metro buses, certain raptors and birds that migrate at night tend to strike the towers and blades, Denny said.
Volunteers like Denny, who is also a field biologist for the U.S. Forest Service, can advise wind developers on where to put turbines to reduce collisions. Many companies are taking steps to gather information about key factors in collisions, such as using radar scans to study nocturnal migration.
"What we've found is we have great companies to work with and other companies that really don't get it," Denny said.
In the upcoming legislative session, Audubon Washington will ask lawmakers to create a new staff position in the Department of Fish and Wildlife to work on wind power issues. That person could help map out where wind turbines are suitable and where developers should be cautious because of the risks to birds and bats.
"Our primary goal has been to support clean renewable energy but not at all costs," Denny said. "With wind, placement is everything, and when the operator and the owner understand that, they will have our complete support."
Contact: dgregg@bizjournals.com • 206-447-8505x114
http://dallas.bizjournals.com/dallas/othercities/seattle/stories/2007/01/01/focus8.html?b=1167627600%5E1396009
TROP ?
They track the flu world wide..
sw