Posted on 05/14/2007 12:45:18 PM PDT by Cagey
Hundreds of birds from as far south as Miami are falling from the sky or flying head-first into buildings and dying after being exposed to smoke from wildfires blanketing parts of Florida, according to a report.
Veterinarians said the birds have very sensitive lungs and the toxins in the smoke are poison to them, Local 6 reported Monday.
Video showed birds slamming head-first into buildings and glass in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
"I hear them (hitting glass) all day long," a business owner said. "It is horrible."
Residents in the counties have called wildlife centers to report the dead birds, the report said.
"Something is draining the life out of (an injured bird)," a man said after finding a bird that fell from the sky. "And it seems to be a slow process, which is pretty brutal."
Officials said smoke from the wildfires in Florida disorients the birds and causes them to fly into windows, according to a WSVN report.
The birds are dying from either the impact of the crash or suffering from head and neck injuries.
Wildfires started about a month ago in southeast Georgia and have spread into Florida. More than 300,000 acres have burned in both states.
The wildfire that raced through the Okefenokee Swamp in southeast Georgia and into Florida was started by lightning more than a week ago.
By Sunday night, it had burned 102,500 acres in Florida and was 30 percent contained. Georgia reported 41 wildfires in the state covering 267,136 acres.
Officials were also fighting a series of other, smaller fires throughout the state.
The fire burning in southeast Georgia and Florida started May 5 in the middle of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. It took just six days to grow larger than another wildfire that has burned nearly 121,000 acres of Georgia forest and swampland over more than three weeks. The smaller fire was started by a tree falling on a power line.
The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Georgia's Steven C. Foster State Park inside it remained closed.
Haze from the fires has traveled as far south as the Miami area, about 340 miles away.
I just watched the clip twice and I’m still laughing.
I'm not surprised. I remember video of some old birds down in Broward and Miami-Dade counties who got confused in the voting booth as well as trying to count hanging chads.
Remember the drunk driving episode where Johnny's reflexes got faster the more he drank?
hmm that could explain biblical stories
I do, thanks for the link. WKRP was awesome, one of the best series ever. Thanks again.
I’ve been doing beer can chicken for about 6 or 7 years now, can’t remember when or where I heard about it, but smoked/indirect heat from without, steamed (with beer no less) from within is an unbeatable combo.
All those years doing it, and I have yet to come up with an effective way of extricating the bird from the can.
I hate it when that happens......
24" Steel fishing leadline, attached to pop tab ring?......
It's almost a two person job, both with very good gloves.
I had the same problem until I got something similar to this:
Spread a couple of tablespoons of freshly cracked corn in front of the can. They can’t resist it.
Spray the can down with Pam, preferably the Pam made for grills, but regular Pam will work.
I didn’t go outside on Friday because of the smoke. It would really make your eyes burn.
For those of you outside Florida, the smoke here is really bad. Right now it just looks like an overcast day here in Tampa (quite far from the fires), but the other day people were driving with their lights on and their cars were covered with ash.
My son, who works outside, had to wear a mask on his face. I was at the doctors office that morning, she said everytime the door opened you could see the smoke coming in.
That was the funniest show ever. “As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly”
Beer Butt Chicken is TOO good.
Only problem I’ve found with Beer Butt Chicken is it takes a long time. How long do you grill/smoke your bird, and at what temperature?
Beer Butt Chicken ping!
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