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ng fast enough for impacts with branches --Apple-Mail-97-166205245 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi Richard, My thoughts exactly. It might be difficult to determine after the fact exactly what caused the blunt force trauma or what caused the birds to panic. Maybe the combination (thunder & lightning plus fireworks) proved to be too great an overall stress? It would be interesting if there was some kind of radar data available from this area at the time of this incident. It might shed some light on exactly what was going on in the skies and exactly when the birds started dropping out of them. What do birds normally do when they panic? Could airflow at the time have been such as to keep the birds flying at low levels where they are much more apt to collide with things? Cheers, Chris On 4-Jan-11, at 10:42 AM, Richard Stern wrote: > Hi, > > I only know what I, and others, have read about this in the media. > However, it could have some positive scientific consequences. There > is a lot we still don't know about bird migration, navigation, how > they get around in the dark, orientate themselves at night, etc. If > anyone ever discovers the truth about this event, it may shed some > light on what went wrong with these birds' survival systems, and > therefore useful information on why this is such an unusual event, > despite the frequency of lightning, loud bangs from various sources, > auroras and other sources of electrical activity etc. around the > world. > > Richard > > On Tue, Jan 4, 2011 at 9:56 AM, Christopher Majka <c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca > > wrote: > Hi Fred, Helene, et al., > > As far as I can determine from recent stories authorities in Arizona > are still investigating what caused the deaths. A report this > morning says that preliminary autopsy reports indicate that the > birds did not ingest anything toxic. They also indicate that the > birds experienced some sort of blunt force trauma. Possible > explanations have focused on lightning, fireworks, and high-altitude > hail. Karen Rowe, an ornithologist with Arkansas Game and Fish > Commission, said that the cause could be a severe lightning bolt. > There was an intense thunderstorm with strong lightning strikes that > moved through the area just prior to the reports of falling birds. > And/or fireworks could have contributed to the panic experienced by > the birds. Karen Rowe added, "The blackbirds were flying at rooftop > level instead of treetop level. Blackbirds have poor eyesight, and > they started colliding with things." > > Cheers! > > Chris > > > On 4-Jan-11, at 9:28 AM, Frederick W. Schueler wrote: > > On 1/3/2011 4:07 PM, Helene Van Doninck wrote: > Getting confused and flying into each other...sounds totally bizarre > and > I don't buy it. > > * googling around one finds - http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/04/fireworks-arkansas-blackbird-deaths > - as the most recent account of this episode. > > According to this, what happened was collisions during panic due to > fireworks and darkness. Everybody (at least me) has always marveled > at how clumsy startled diurnal Birds are at night, and has wondered > if they could get going fast enough for impacts with branches to > harm them, and of course lethal building strikes by Birds in free > flight is a well-known phenomenon. > > What's suggested is that these Birds didn't "fall from the sky" as > recounted by naive observers, but crashed into each other and > objects, with lethal consequence. Of course, with one of those big > feedlot-country blackbird roosts, it wouldn't take a very high > frequency of resulting mortality to amount to 3K. The roar of wings > and panic when a lot of major fireworks went off over one of those > roosts must have been terrifying. > > > > > -- > ################# > Richard Stern, > 317 Middle Dyke Rd. > Port Williams, NS, Canada > B0P 1T0 > > sternrichard@gmail.com > ################### --Apple-Mail-97-166205245 Content-Type: text/html; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <html><body style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; = -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Hi = Richard,<div><br></div><div>My thoughts exactly. It might be difficult = to determine after the fact exactly what caused the blunt force trauma = or what caused the birds to panic. Maybe the combination (thunder & = lightning plus fireworks) proved to be too great an overall stress? It = would be interesting if there was some kind of radar data available from = this area at the time of this incident. It might shed some light on = exactly what was going on in the skies and exactly when the birds = started dropping out of them. What do birds normally do when they panic? = Could airflow at the time have been such as to keep the birds flying at = low levels where they are much more apt to collide with = things?</div><div><br></div><div>Cheers,</div><div><br></div><div>Chris</d= iv><div><br><div><div>On 4-Jan-11, at 10:42 AM, Richard Stern = wrote:</div><br class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote = type=3D"cite">Hi,<div><br></div><div>I only know what I, and others, = have read about this in the media. However, it could have some positive = scientific consequences. There is a lot we still don't know about bird = migration, navigation, how they get around in the dark, orientate = themselves at night, etc. If anyone ever discovers the truth about this = event, it may shed some light on what went wrong with these birds' = survival systems, and therefore useful information on why this is such = an unusual event, despite the frequency of lightning, loud bangs from = various sources, auroras and other sources of electrical activity etc. = around the world.</div> <div><br></div><div>Richard<br><br><div = class=3D"gmail_quote">On Tue, Jan 4, 2011 at 9:56 AM, Christopher Majka = <span dir=3D"ltr"><<a = href=3D"mailto:c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca">c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca</a>&