Mysterious Happenings

If you haven't already heard, on New Years Eve 3000 Red-Winged Blackbirds fell out of the sky in a small town in Arkansas.
No one, not even experts are sure why or how the birds died.
There are many theories swirling around, being fireworks, toxic poisons, sonic booms, freak weather, aliens, even precursors to 2012.
I'm stumped. I've considered all these explanations and dismissed them (mostly).
I think it's odd that only red-winged blackbirds fell.
More reports recently came in of the same phenomenom in Louisiana, with accounts of 500 red-winged blackbirds dead.
There have also been reports in Kentucky.
Carcases litter the road.
So what do you think caused it? And why?



I might add that the day before, only 125 miles away, eighty to one hundred thousand dead fish were found washed up on the shores of the Arkansas river.
Most of these fish were Drum fish, so many think it could be a disease only afflicting one species. But.. not all of the fish were Drum fish.

Drum fish are bottom feeders, if you were interested. They eat smaller fish, mollusks, and insects.

Different scientists say different things.
Some say it couldn't be pollutants, some say the events are totally unrelated.
What do you think?

Bird Death Links:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...-sent-testing/

http://planetsave.com/2011/01/04/ove...y-in-arkansas/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...010503976.html

Fish Death Links:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40887450...s-environment/

Comments on both:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...aths-louisiana

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theloo...ratching-heads

I'm not worried about it, to be honest. I once got caught in a rainfall of frogs, so sometimes odd stuff does happen. I do hope that the cause is found and ameliorated though.

I'm going to say toxic poisons for the fish, fish die even with the slightest change in their atmosperes, being a trained salmon assassin I speak from experience! You would think just a cpl tests would determine the animal deaths tho...

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Originally Posted by Boleslav

I'm not worried about it, to be honest. I once got caught in a rainfall of frogs, so sometimes odd stuff does happen. I do hope that the cause is found and ameliorated though.

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Yeah, Moses didn't really succeed with that one did he? :p

A plague of frogs...c'mon. :D

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Originally Posted by Richie_B

A plague of frogs...c'mon. :D

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It's not the kind of experience you forget! But it did happen. I wouldn't call it a plague, but it was raining frogs.

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Originally Posted by Boleslav

It's not the kind of experience you forget! But it did happen. I wouldn't call it a plague, but it was raining frogs.

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I only used the word plague because of the whole Moses and the Israelites thing I was implying. I didn't know you were that old. ;)

Coming back on topic...

It's the beginning of the rapture!
http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l8...ipfxo1_500.jpg

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Originally Posted by Boleslav

I'm not worried about it, to be honest. I once got caught in a rainfall of frogs, so sometimes odd stuff does happen. I do hope that the cause is found and ameliorated though.

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But...
3000 birds all at once? Maybe more?
I don't feel so nonchalant. ._.

Well guys, I think it's time we finally start preparing for the immanent zombie apocalypse. Start storing away canned foods, shotguns, gas, lots and lots of ammo, and chainsaws.

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Originally Posted by acer5200

Well guys, I think it's time we finally start preparing for the immanent zombie apocalypse. Start storing away canned foods, shotguns, gas, lots and lots of ammo, and chainsaws.

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I have been training tirelessly, using Kino Der Toten as my means. :)

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Originally Posted by acer5200

...lots and lots of asmo...

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One can never have too much.

I've heard about this and other things regarding the recent events,

1. Don't Panic!
2. Don't pack your bags yet!
3. do some Research
4. When you find the Truth.
5. PANIC!!!

but that's just me. :)

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Originally Posted by Appolyon

I've heard about this and other things regarding the recent events,

1. Don't Panic!
2. Don't pack your bags yet!
3. do some Research
4. When you find the Truth.
5. PANIC!!!

but that's just me. :)

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There really isn't much research to be done. The bird deaths are being looked into still..
Arkansas has had frequent earthquakes recently, and I think I read somewhere that the state was constructing a gas line. Also they have been mining more. But even if gas was to escape.. Why would only blackbirds suffer?

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Originally Posted by Boleslav

One can never have too much.

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http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...utudidthar.jpg

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Originally Posted by acer5200

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...utudidthar.jpg

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*cracks my red rep whip and glares*




So, Jason, what do you think happened?

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Originally Posted by SickbyDefinition

*cracks my red rep whip and glares*




So, Jason, what do you think happened?

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I wouldn't do that. His whip is bigger than yours. :rofl:

(I would be more concerned about the situation if birds all over the world started dropping out of the skies. Since it is mainly localised, I don't care too much.)

Hmmm... Well if they had been dropping dead for the past ten years, I would've attributed it to either a genetic disorder, a hereditary illness, or some sort of migration route fluctuation.
I honestly don't have that many great ideas about how they all died within a short while. To make it worse, only the black birds were affected, and not, say, sparrows. All I have to suggest is that they either died of some disease that has started to affect only organisms of that type, or that there is a large difference in the climate where the birds are native too.

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Originally Posted by jehlickam/highheels

being a trained salmon assassin I speak from experience!

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[7:07 PM] Boleslav: how does one assassinate a salmon?

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Allow me to explain:

Scene 1: The Meeting
Setting: A shady alleyway, during a foggy afternoon.

Assassin enters the alleyway and glances around.
"Over here," says a voice from the shadows. Assassin notices Bass in one shadowed corner of the alley, wearing a plain brown trench coat and bolero hat. Bass steps forward, taking a slow drag on a cigarette.
"Who needs attention?" says Assassin. Bass glances left to right, before slipping a picture to Assassin. Assassin swipes the picture and glances down at it, recognizing the face of Salmon. He nods.
"He's been getting a little too greedy with the worms. Won't give me my cut. My patience has run out."
"And you're good for the cash?" Assassin asks, with a cocked eyebrow.
"Every cent," Bass replies, taking another slow drag on his cigarette. Assassin nods again, slipping the picture in the folds of his jacket. He then turns, and without looking back, strolls out of the alley and down the sidewalk, towards the park where his target was waiting.
"You think he'll get the job done?" inquires another voice, from behind Bass's shoulder. Bass glances over at Pike, who slipped out from behind one corner of the alleyway to approach Bass.
"Yeah. I looked into his history. Professionally trained assassin. He's got experience."
Pike nods, seemingly satisfied. Bass pulls a cigarette box from within his coat, and pats it lightly against a fin, jarring a cigarette loose. Silently, he passes it to Pike. Pike accepts the cigarette, and pulls a lighter from his pocket, igniting the tip of the cigarette with a soft flare of light and smoke. The scene fades as Bass and Pike slowly take drags on their cigarettes, silently waiting for the results of the job.

Scene 2: The Hit
Setting: City park.

Salmon is at the park with his wife, Perch, and two kids, having a picnic. Salmon's gut is slightly plump, silent evidence to his taking cuts from the worm business. Assassin spots him from afar, and begins studying his subject, from Salmon's bulbous eyes to his softly sheening scales. As Assassin ponders the manner of execution, the opportunity offers itself: one of Salmon's children, who is playing frisbee with the other, accidentally throws the frisbee too far, causing it to crash in the woods behind them. One child starts to head in that direction, only to be stopped by Perch, who mentions that the children should not leave her sight. Salmon props himself up on his fins, and proposes he'll retrieve the frisbee for them.

Assassin quickly launches into motion, sulking along the edge of the woods towards the frisbee, ahead of Salmon. He grabs the frisbee and tosses it several feet further in the woods, but within open sight. He then takes position behind a generously wide tree nearby. After a few moments, Salmon saunters along, spotting the frisbee and heading that way. As he unknowingly passes the tree Assassin hides behind, Assassin jumps into motion, quickly wrapping a fishing line around the throat of Salmon as a garotte. Salmon quickly lets out a gurgled gasp, and reaches up to the line, trying in vain to claw it from his neck. Assassin pulls harder on the line, digging it deeply into Salmon's scales and flesh. Salmon's movements quickly become panicked and frantic, his eyes starting to bulge (moreso than usual) and his mouth flopping open and closed madly trying to draw breath. After a few moments, Assassin feels Salmon's body go limp. Giving one last tight jerk of the line for good measure, Assassin finally relaxes the line. Salmon's body slumps forward to the ground like dead weight, his jaw slacked open and his eye staring blankly into the sky, never seeing again. Without delay, Assassin slips the line back into his jacket and takes off into the further depths of the woods. The scene fades as Asassin hears the blood-curdling shriek of Perch behind him as she discovers her murdered husband.

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Originally Posted by SickbyDefinition

*cracks my red rep whip and glares*


So, Jason, what do you think happened?

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That's a very good question m'dear.

And I can honestly say, I haven't formed an opinion on this matter yet, simply because I'm absolutely clusless as to what could've happened.

Soon we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi, soon we will have our revenge.

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Originally Posted by Richie_B

I wouldn't do that. His whip is bigger than yours. :rofl:

(I would be more concerned about the situation if birds all over the world started dropping out of the skies. Since it is mainly localised, I don't care too much.)

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His whip doesn't scare me.

And it wasn't just localized. If you'd bothered to read any of the links, much less my whole post, you'd know that it's happened in multiple, far apart states.

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Originally Posted by Arathorn136

Hmmm... Well if they had been dropping dead for the past ten years, I would've attributed it to either a genetic disorder, a hereditary illness, or some sort of migration route fluctuation.
I honestly don't have that many great ideas about how they all died within a short while. To make it worse, only the black birds were affected, and not, say, sparrows. All I have to suggest is that they either died of some disease that has started to affect only organisms of that type, or that there is a large difference in the climate where the birds are native too.

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There has never been an event this large, and with many like it in such a short period of time. It has also never been paired with thousands of fish dying, them too nearly all at once (there haven't been some fish dying here and there, and no more large reports have been discussed other than the findings of that one day).

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Originally Posted by SickbyDefinition

His whip doesn't scare me.

And it wasn't just localized. If you'd bothered to read any of the links, much less my whole post, you'd know that it's happened in multiple, far apart states.

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He lives in good ole' Ireland so anything that goes on within the US and only the US is technically localized to him.

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Originally Posted by SickbyDefinition

His whip doesn't scare me.

And it wasn't just localized. If you'd bothered to read any of the links, much less my whole post, you'd know that it's happened in multiple, far apart states.

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Maybe I did read the links and don't know the geography of the U.S. very well?

Maybe I added the part in brackets so my post seemed slightly on-topic and not totally spam?

Maybe I like to ask rhetorical questions?

EDIT: Acer, I can't say you're wrong about that. :D My small-minded thoughts...

I havent had a chance to check the links properly yet, And i dont have an answer as to why!
But i do work with birds, and a little random bit of information every bird keeper knows is:

Birds are strange animals when it comes to illnesses. Most of the time they can be absolutely fine one min then the next ... well you get the idea. Ive seen many birds just drop dead, sometimes i have 24 hours warning and watch them rapidly go down hill. Some times i can have an ill bird, nurse it better then just when i think im out of the woods... Legs in the air.

If there was a fast acting disease in the birds population, depending on how closely related these birds are

(short Boi lesson: When a species in interbred the gene pool they have will decrease .. over many years they become so inbred they pretty much have the same genetic makeup, meaning if a disease was to hit ... they would all be wiped out. Cheaters have this - they are 99.5% the same when it comes to the gene make up - if my memory severs me right, meaning 1 disease - goodbye cheaters)

However Saying that ... Even if they were all closely related, and a virus hit, I would expect the deaths to happen over a few weeks, not all at once.
As for the fish, I think as some one mentioned earlier 1% change or 1oC change in the water make up can drastically effect a population of fish, most are not good or quick adaptors.

Having not fully read the articles, but gone mainly on what was said in the OP. Im slightly worried about these events. Hopefully its nothing, but even then losing a flock of 5k birds from an area can have drastic effects on the eco system in that area.

And thats my little lesson over… :D
(And my lecturers at college told me id never remember any of this...)

I read somehwere that some of the birds had trauma? That makes me think something like lighning or foreworks caused this. Maybe hitting one of them that caused panic with the others.

But then again, most of the things mentions could be possible. I'm curious what it was. On the matter of the fish, that could just be a coincidence, right?

What is even more odd is that yesterday I saw this news report;

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STOCKHOLM - January 5, 2011 -- Officials say about 50 birds have been found dead on a street in Sweden.

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Here's the source: http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?se...rld&id=7880300

Also... the crabs. 40k died, possibly by hypothermia.
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/ar...eath-mysteries

I'm wondering if it might just look like this happens a lot more because the case of the Jackdaws has drawn our attention. But even if so, its a good thing to wake up people when it comes to animals.

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Originally Posted by The Luda

I'm wondering if it might just look like this happens a lot more because the case of the Jackdaws has drawn our attention. But even if so, its a good thing to wake up people when it comes to animals.

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I have heard isolated cases of this happening, however ive not heard anything on this scale in such a short space of time. theones ive heard of are far and few between.
Its sparked my intrest so much, Im going to try and go back to college on monday and speak to one of my old lectures about it. See what i can dig up.
Ill let you all know what he says.

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Originally Posted by XxflamesxX

I have heard isolated cases of this happening, however ive not heard anything on this scale in such a short space of time. theones ive heard of are far and few between.
Its sparked my intrest so much, Im going to try and go back to college on monday and speak to one of my old lectures about it. See what i can dig up.
Ill let you all know what he says.

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Pls do so!

Here's an article that got all events pretty much summed up. I thought it might be easier. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/wor...-1225983198265

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Originally Posted by The Luda

Pls do so!

Here's an article that got all events pretty much summed up. I thought it might be easier. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/wor...-1225983198265

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Nice find...
I might email him and get information quicker. Its prob nothing to worry about and all easly explained. But im rather fasinated!

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Originally Posted by XxflamesxX

Nice find...
I might email him and get information quicker. Its prob nothing to worry about and all easly explained. But im rather fasinated!

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Same here, tho I now found this

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Thousands of Dead Blackbirds Fall on Arkansas as Part of Movie Advertising Stunt
http://www.benningtonvalepress.com/2...s-fall-on.html

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and If that's actually true... man whata bad stunt. :duh:

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Originally Posted by The Luda

Same here, tho I now found this


and If that's actually true... man whata bad stunt. :duh:

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hmm... intresting, well mail sent, lets see what he says, i hope its not a stunt, it leads to a boring end to the tale!

Hey wait a second first 5,000 then 500 and then 50 those are the numbers of birds dying this is really odd. P.S. I think those are the numbers.

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Originally Posted by XxflamesxX

hmm... intresting, well mail sent, lets see what he says, i hope its not a stunt, it leads to a boring end to the tale!

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If thats the answer to what happend to them, we would still have all the other 7 cases to look at, right?I bet they weren't doing a "the crabs" remake.. :p

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Originally Posted by Hi I'm Bob

Hey wait a second first 5,000 then 500 and then 50 those are the numbers of birds dying this is really odd. P.S. I think those are the numbers.

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The numbers show no pattern. That would really be freaky. :rolleyes:
It's actually: (~)

100,000 drum fish - Arkansas river,
5000 red-winged blackbirds , Arkansas
500: a mixed flock of red-winged blackbirds, brown-headed cowbirds, grackles and starlings in Louisiana,
About 100 jackdaw birds in Sweden,
several hundreds grackles red wing blackbirds, robins and starlings in Kentucky,
40,000 devil crabs in England
two million spot fish in Chesapeake Bay
100 tonnes of sardine, croaker and catfish in Brazil.

Poor birds. But good thing there ain't any ravens in there. :3
I'd go with whatever Pip's said. She's like the bird expert 'round here. XD

... still, we all know those fishes died because Asmo got so fricken' drunk on NYE that when he fell into that water, 190 proof Everclear oozed out of his pores and promptly killed the fishes. :/

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Originally Posted by acer5200

... lots and lots of asmo ...

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I've been stocking up on those, but they keep getting stolen. :(

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Originally Posted by Boleslav

One can never have too much.

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^ Trudat.


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Originally Posted by The Luda

100,000 drum fish - Arkansas river,
5000 red-winged blackbirds , Arkansas
500: a mixed flock of red-winged blackbirds, brown-headed cowbirds, grackles and starlings in Louisiana,
About 100 jackdaw birds in Sweden,
several hundreds grackles red wing blackbirds, robins and starlings in Kentucky,
40,000 devil crabs in England
two million spot fish in Chesapeake Bay
100 tonnes of sardine, croaker and catfish in Brazil.

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Originally Posted by CaptainRon

And a partri-idge in a pear treeeee.

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^ Best xmas song parody. XD

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Originally Posted by Ravenwings

I'd go with whatever Pip's said. She's like the bird expert 'round here. XD

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Grrrr !!!!!! Weve Talked about that name!! Many times!!

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Originally Posted by Ravenwings

Best xmas song parody. XD

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Agreed!!! :rofl:

this is just one of the many signs, its coming guys


im ready


and im in position


the bombs will start dropping almost 2 years from now

use this time wisely

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Originally Posted by Nesterus

this is just one of the many signs, its coming guys


im ready


and im in position


the bombs will start dropping almost 2 years from now

use this time wisely

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:rofl:

"Have faith in God," Jesus answered.

*cough* crap *cough*

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Originally Posted by Ravenwings

^ Best xmas song parody. XD

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Trudat. :cheer:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/158468/fuel

i think the thirty minutes explains alot.....

and the coverage on the damage of katrina that was NOT on tv or in the papers of the oil spill the size of exxon valdiz during the storm.

so birds and fish are dieing around parts of the world and people are saying apocalypse already? welll its not that its just overhunting from the aliens in the galaxy using their invisible space wands that leave no wounds and also they must be hunting for sport sense their are bodies so in the short version space invaders are destroying the birds and fish in our world:D

MARK MY WORDS

Arkansas MIGHT be hit by a plague of either locuts, bull frogs of goats.

Make the place a desert or just make it too hard to sleep with the croaking

I think if it were an illness it would have been more spread out among red-winged populations.
Also, the fact that 3000 or so (give or take a couple thousand) just plopped out of the sky.. Well that doesn't sound like any kind of disease to me. Inbred birds or not.
I'm not saying this is an apocalypse, but it is almost too peculiar to ignore.
Of course, strange, coincidental, unexplainable events occur throughout history.
The fish deaths aren't as peculiar.. Simply coincidental.

Thanks for the bio lessons, those of you that included them. I'm sure they enlightened some confused posters :)

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Originally Posted by SickbyDefinition

I think if it were an illness it would have been more spread out among red-winged populations.
Also, the fact that 3000 or so (give or take a couple thousand) just plopped out of the sky.. Well that doesn't sound like any kind of disease to me. Inbred birds or not.

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Your right, after reading some of the reports in more detail, it cannot be a desease as it would take weeks for the virus to effect all of the birds, also one report mentioned that there are still thousands of the birds left alive in the area. This discredits my theroies, as all of them would have died over the next on coming weeks (and with that many birds i doubt their gene pool is small enough to be effected by just 1 virus). So back to the drawing board! Still waiting to hear back from my old college.