Posted on 01/02/2011 8:33:08 AM PST by edpc
BEEBE, Ark. – Wildlife officials are trying to determine what caused more than 1,000 blackbirds to die and fall from the sky over an Arkansas town.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said Saturday that it began receiving reports about the dead birds about 11:30 p.m. the previous night. The birds fell over a 1-mile area of Beebe, and an aerial survey indicated that no other dead birds were found outside of that area.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
“Where was the king when this was happening?”
On vacation.
In Hawaii.
With his piranha-jawed, manly wife.
Sinker sucker socks pants
Apocryphal awry ...
- from “Anguish Languish” by Howard L. Chace
No, it was the salmon mousse.
4 & 20 blackbirds baked in a pie.......
Robins are thought to be harbingers of Spring, but really they’re not. Robins will often winter in northern states like Pennsylvania. I’ve seen them eating seeds.
But grackles arrive in late March or early April.
"A wet bird never flies at night"-- Comedian Jackie Vernon
? Just classic quotes from WKRP turkey drop episode.
Ok, so at least 41.67 pies.
On another point, I think the wording in the rhyme should be “..baked in TO a pie”, not “baked in a pie”. That works much better, and is how I learned it long ago.
My dear hubby did some looking online and says “experts” are speculating it was a high altitude hail storm.
My daughter (who is ‘smarter than a fifth grader’) says that hailstones bounce around up in the clouds until they get big enough to fall. Sometimes they don’t fall at all.
So, the birds could have been pelted with hailstones.
I was at a restaurant in the middle of Winston-Salem, NC, during the day on New Year’s Eve, and there was a commotion on one side of the dining area, people pulling their cell phone cameras out, all atwitter.
I went over to see what the deal was, and there was a large hawk just sitting there on the patio wall, looking back in at the diners taking pictures. By large, I mean eagle-sized, wouldn’t want to tangle with it one on one.
People started streaming outside to take a closer look. It just sat there. I started to wonder if it was injured, and then a crow called from atop a street light pole. Then came a flock of crows, and they started dive-bombing the hawk right in front of us.
It was quite the sight. I’ve seen crows and even smaller birds ganging up and chasing off a bird of prey while airborn before, but never up close and personal like that. The hawk flew a short distance to the roof of another building nearby, the crows wheeled above, cawwed and dived for about fifteen minutes. Then, the hawk launched off the rooftop and swept slow and low up the street, gone out of sight. The crows flew away, sounding sort of triumphant.
Wasn’t that about the same time the storms were going through the area? Could have been killed by something going on up high in the sky.
I don’t think those birds will be singing, though. ;o)
LOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOLLOL!!!!!
or at night...
Previous on FR/January 20, 2005: 60+ Starlings Die Within Minutes and Inches of Each Other on Ft Knox (Vanity)
AK AK!!
Paging Mr. Fort, Mr. Chuck Fort!
Redwing Blackbird: Native species, usually benign. Lives in and near marshland. Good insect eater. Leave alone unless they need “incentive to relocate”.
Starling: invasive alien species: KILL if possible, otherwise drive away by any means possible. Eat native birds’ young, grain, and anything you don’t want them to. Did I mention KILL THEM if you can?
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