MASS BIRD DEATHS

HEALTH Threats - including bird flu
Unusual ANIMAL Behavior
BEE & Insect Die-offs
FISH Die-Offs/ Red Tides

8/26/07 -
WEST NILE VIRUS - A gene mutation that appears to be responsible for changing relatively mild forms of the West Nile virus into a highly virulent and deadly disease in American crows has been identified by U.S. government and university scientists. Studies have found that deaths of American crows due to West Nile virus are associated with higher rates of infection among mosquito populations and clusters of the disease in humans. This year to date 444 people have been stricken with West Nile virus, and 15 of them have died. "The findings from this study highlight the potential for viruses like West Nile to rapidly adapt to changing environments when introduced to new geographic regions. The study also suggests that the genetic mutations that create such adaptive changes may result in viral strains that have unexpected symptoms and patterns of transmission." West Nile virus, which is passed back and forth between birds and mosquitoes and transmitted to humans via mosquito bites, was first identified in 1937 in Uganda.
CANADA - This is ONE OF THE WORST YEARS ON RECORD FOR WEST NILE bird deaths.

PENNSYLVANIA - Updated information on the bird deaths along the Susquehanna River is that the deaths are no longer limited to insect-eating birds. The latest reports are that ducks and shorebirds have also been found dead and floating in the river. Currently, the numbers are given as "dozens" of birds, but no new information on the cause of their deaths.

NEW YORK - More than a dozen dead birds have been found in a suburban lake within the last two weeks of July and first week of August, and officials suspect a paralyzing bird disease. First it was a mallard here, a Canada goose there, even a swan. Now the toll has reached more than 20, Babylon Village officials say. The village is not sure why the birds are dying. Preliminary indications point toward avian botulism, a paralytic disease produced by decaying matter such as old bread, which many people continue to feed the ducks despite warning signs telling them not to. Certain environmental conditions, such as intense heat and lowered water levels, also increase bacteria. Argyle Lake has random waterfowl deaths throughout the year, but they have not seen so many in such a short period.

INDIA - 97% of the vulture population in India has crashed. What was once one of the most abundant large birds of prey in the world is dying out. Why? The verdict is in, a drug found in cattle and humans, but there is controversy about it for a number of reasons. The anti-inflammatory drug, diclofenac, similar to ibuprofen, has been used by cattle farmers as a popular cure-all to treat a variety of diseases. When vultures feed on the carcasses which are traditionally left out for them, the drug in the meat creates kidney failure in vultures if consumed. India has a population of 500 million cattle. There are 140,000 slaughter houses in India. Vultures are not particularly held in high esteem by people, but they perform a vital function in South East Asia, in Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Tibet and Sri Lanka, to keep the environment clean and fresh. Their extinction would be a massive tragedy. Controversy exists because there may be other causes for the extinction. Lead may be the culprit, as may other human debris that can be picked up by vultures and fed to their young. Scientists say it was not a virus.

7/26/07 -
Scotland's seabirds are having a "disastrous" breeding season . Mid-season reports have found cliffsalmost empty, where there should be thousands of birds. Parts of Shetland, Orkney and Cape Wrath in the Highlands were among the worst affected. Climate change appeared to be disrupting food supply, but more research will need to be done. Scotland's coastline supports 45% of the European Union's seabird breeding population. For some areas the season is worse than last year and heading towards being the worst since a "dreadful" 2004 season. "Some cliffs which should be packed with birds are just about bare as adult birds abandon the nest once their breeding attempt has failed. This is all linked to food availability, which can be disrupted for a number of reasons. We're fairly certain that on the east coast, rising sea temperatures are leading to plankton regime shifts, which in turn affects fish like sand eels - a major food source for seabirds."

CANADA - Dead birds are washing up on the shores of Lake Ontario, and state wildlife officials say botulism is to blame. Several hundred dead birds have washed up in recent weeks along Little Galloo Island and the eastern shore of Lake Ontario, the second major waterfowl die-off on Lake Ontario in less than nine months. In October, botulism poisoned more than 500 loons during their migration south. Smaller kills occurred in August 2005 and July 2002.

NORWAY - This year's nesting season for puffins on the Norwegian island of Røst is turning into a disaster. Hardly any of the puffin chicks are expected to survive, because their parents are unable to feed them. This year, the puffins have left their newly hatched chicks and flown on to places like Vesterålen. That's because of a severe shortage of herring around Røst, the spawning of which provides the major source of food for the puffins. "The herring has completely let them down. The parents have no food to give their young." Around a quarter of Norway's puffin population nests on Røst. The summer of 2007 is shaping up as THE WORST NESTING SEASON FOR THE PUFFINS IN YEARS. Experts weren't sure why the herring streams haven't gone by Røst this year. "It could be because of strong northerly winds that have sent the herring spawning out to sea."

PAKISTAN - Like human beings, birds and animals too are distressed by the scorching heat and humidity, which has broken records this summer. Birds have not been seen flying during noon and afternoon to avoid dehydration and sunstrokes, which prove fatal at times. Eagles, parrots, crows and chickens are the birds worst affected by the hot climatic conditions. Heat related deaths among birds and animals will further increase if the weather continued to get hotter in the coming days. Birds venturing out in summer noons and afternoons, especially crows, suffered from sunstrokes due to exposure to heavy sunbeams. After being hit by strokes, birds get motionless and pick up only if they are taken to a shady and cool place. The worst flying time for birds was between 12:00 noon to 5:00 pm. Birds leaving their nests during this hot part of the day would be at a higher risk of being affected by heat strokes - a major reason behind many bird deaths in summer.

INDIA - Blame it on the 48C temperature that has hit parts of northern India, the country’s national bird Peacock and many of our feathered friends are dying in mass. The extreme hot and blistering climate has taken a heavy toll on Indian birds, especially peafowl, that are dropping dead this summer. More than 120 peacocks have died in Tughlakabad Fort and Surajkund areas here because of the intense heat and severe water shortage in mid-June. Some 400 peacocks have died of intense heat conditions in Morena area of Madhya Pradesh; about 200 have died in Haryana and Punjab alone. Their drying carcasses are strewn all over the affected region where these birds are found in large numbers. It’s not only peafowl that is on the verge of extinction, various species of birds like munias, starlings, francolins, parakeets etc. that once were familiar to Indian homes, trees and gardens, suddenly seem to have disappeared into oblivion. Many associate our childhood with little sparrows chirping and playing on verandah. None of them are seen any longer. Also those beautiful hill mynas that hopped on tree branches, are nowhere to be seen. Hundreds of parrots that lived in the premises of Qutub Minar here are not seen now. Many of them are dead, say ornithologists. With birds being valuable environmental indicators, their disappearance point towards how vulnerable the earth has become to global warming or rising temperatures all over, besides other causes. The very food cycle of birds has changed, and birds are not able to feed themselves.

U.S. - Increasing butolism deaths among Great Lakes waterfowl - Botulism deaths among Great Lakes Waterfowl are on the rise, and zebra mussels are implicated. "The die-offs are becoming more common. We first saw them in the late 1990s. They're increasing in frequency and expanse over the last few years." The die-offs affect fish-eating birds and scavengers. This creates concerns for the long term effects on populations of cormorants, ducks, loons, grebes and gulls. In October 2006, more than 500 loons were killed by botulism after eating infected fish. The disease paralyzes the birds, causing them to drown. These large-scale bird deaths are due to invasive species such as zebra mussels and round gobies. The zebra mussels create a low-oxygen environment where the toxin can grow, then round gobies, a bottom-dwelling fish, eat the zebra mussels and the disease works its way up the food chain to birds.

U.S. - Hundreds of emaciated seabirds have washed up dead along the southeastern coast of America, alarming scientists who fear changes in the ocean could have affected the fish that the birds normally eat. More than a thousand Shearwaters, large gull-like birds that spend most of their lives far out to sea, have been found dead over the first two weeks of July on beaches stretching from the Bahamas to the Carolinas, say wildlife biologists. Officials are not certain what is causing the casualties but say that the only common factor is that they appeared to have died of malnutrition and dehydration during migration. Preliminary tests in Georgia and Florida have indicated that no disease or pathogen, such as West Nile virus or bird flu, is involved in the deaths. A similar but less severe shearwater death toll was reported in 2005.

5/14/07 -
FLORIDA - small birds were dropping from the sky in one area of North Miami on the 11th. Stepping outside lately has been like stepping into a smoke-filled room. The fires have been burning for weeks now all over the state of Florida. They say those little birds couldn't breathe the air and with their tiny lungs just couldn't survive.
Hundreds of dead birds have been spotted in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Officials say the thickness of the smoke disorients the birds and causes them to fly into windows, resulting in their death. Bird experts say that the birds that weren't killed suffered severe head and neck injuries.

SOUTH KOREA - Tens of thousands of migratory birds are facing starvation in South Korea. A land reclamation project has destroyed key wetlands used by the birds on their way from Asia to their breeding grounds in the Arctic. Without the food at the Saemangeum wetlands, on the east coast, many of the birds will not survive the journey. Two endangered species of wading bird face extinction because of the changes. There are believed to be fewer than 1,000 mature spoonbilled sandpipers and Nordmann's greenshanks left in the wild. Saemangeum was once an estuarine tidal flat on South Korea's Yellow Sea coast. It was an important feeding ground for about 400,000 migrating birds making their way on a 24,000km round-trip between Asia and Alaska and Russia. But 15 years ago, the government revealed plans for the world's biggest land reclamation project in order to drain the estuary and create fertile paddy fields. After a succession of legal challenges from conservationists, the 33km sea wall was finally closed a year ago. Since then the vast wetlands have been replaced by parched earth, shellfish beds and plants have been destroyed, and thousands of birds are starving as a result. The birds relied on the tidal flats at Saemangeum as somewhere where they could land and "refuel" after a nine-day flight from New Zealand. It is critically important to mount a global effort to safeguard other estuaries around Saemangeum, one of which the government is also planning to reclaim.

Bird migration patterns shifting - Disoriented by erratic weather, birds are changing migration habits and routes to adjust to warmer winters, disappearing feeding grounds and shrinking wetlands, a migration expert says. Failure to adapt risks extinction. Birds face starvation when they arrive too early or too late to find their normal diet of insects, plankton or fish. In the north, some birds have stopped migrating altogether, leaving them at risk when the next cold winter strikes. "Species that adapted to changes over millennia are now being asked to make those adaptations extremely quickly because of the swift rise in temperatures. We don't know how many will survive. We will lose species." Warming is predicted to drive up to 30 percent of known animal species to extinction, and migrating birds are especially vulnerable. Climate change can strike at each stage of their annual trek, from breeding ground to rest stops to their final destination.

4/29/07 -
INDIA - Last July, four hundred open bill storks built nests, paired, mated and in August, but because of a shortage of rainfall all nests were abandoned. This is no freak incident, with the weather increasingly playing spoilsport in many parts of the country. Last year, mango trees in Andhra Pradesh flowered three months early because of the rising heat. A few years ago, bees in the Himalayas were impacted by similar erratic flowering patterns, leading to a big drop in the honey supply. Locals have also reported a marked decline in the population of sallows in Srinagar valley. Rising temperatures in the Capital have even resulted in the near disappearance of some species of birds. “There has been an 80 per cent drop in numbers of Golden Oreole and Paradise Flycatcher in Delhi because of increasing temperatures. Weather has impacted not just birds, ladybirds, butterflies across the country and soon mammals will be next."

AUSTRALIA - The drought has slashed numbers in bird species, including endangered varieties, a peak birdwatching group has said. The water shortage in the Central West and Riverina is threatening fairy wrens, thornbills and turquoise parrots. The birds live in woodland undergrowth. Persistent drought meant plants have died off, destroying habitat. Larger birds were able to fly elsewhere in search of water but small resident populations were less mobile and more susceptible to local conditions. Other species seriously affected by the drought included scrub wrens, red-capped robins, Gilbert's whistlers, grey-crowned and white-browed babblers and peaceful doves.

U.S. WEST COAST - For a third straight year, seabirds have been starving to death and washing up on beaches in California, Oregon and Washington state. Scientists are at a loss explain the phenomenon. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials found 175 dead auklets and 68 dead puffins over a three-day period in late March near the mouth of the south shore of the Columbia River. Auklets and puffins have also died in RECORD NUMBERS in coastal areas in Washington`s Long Beach. The birds have no body fat and there`s nothing in their digestive systems. Scientists can`t say for sure if climate change explains the deaths. But warm oceans have caused the food web to be 'unproductive.' Summer should bring colder water that will 'kick-start' the food chain.

4/17/07 -
AUSTRALIA- Scientists have been unable to determine what caused the sudden death of 25 fairy penguins at a Gold Coast theme park. All possible testing regimes have been exhausted and the results have proven inconclusive. The remaining 12 penguins are happy and healthy. They remain in quarantine, where they had been kept since the mysterious deaths last month. It was believed an unidentified toxin that attacked the brain, kidney and liver was in fresh gravel brought into the penguins' enclosure caused the birds to became ill on March 8.

AUSTRALIA - Birds are still dying of lead poisoning in the West Australian port town of Esperance, amid continued health concerns for local residents. Nearly 4,000 birds died earlier this year sparking an investigation into the lead source, which proved to be lead carbonate moved through the town by a mining company for export. Nearly 20 birds have been found dead in the last three weeks. The most recent deaths were of honeyeaters and wattle birds. Esperance residents were warned not to drink from their rain water tanks or eat seafood caught off waters in the area.

OREGON - The mystery of the dying seabirds is being played out on the North Coast. Horned puffins, mottled petrels and thick-billed murres are seabirds that generally stay far offshore and away from Oregon. But the birds have been washing up dead on Oregon shores in UNUSUALLY high numbers this year. The birds are starving, with empty stomachs and breast muscles shrinking as their ailing bodies burn muscle tissue to survive. The die-off is a mystery, but theories range from global warming to a scarcity of the herring the birds usually feed on this time of year. Young herring thrive in colder water, and their smaller numbers could be tied to warm ocean conditions over recent years. The good news is that upwelling started on time this year, enriching coastal waters. That promises a strong rebound in coastal species if the upwelling continues. The upwelling can also backfire on marine life if it grows too strong, though. In some recent years, it has been so powerful, that it carried nutrients that fueled massive algae blooms. When the algae dies and decays, it sucks oxygen from the water, leaving a so-called "dead zone." Some researchers say the marine system is too complicated to blame the bird deaths on a single cause. Near-shore ocean conditions are shifting, but exactly how is not clear.

CALIFORNIA - Marine biologists have been combing area beaches in search of clues to what has killed an UNUSUALLY high number of seabirds along the Monterey Bay. The birds, mostly common murres, appear to be starving to death. While it's common to see dead birds on Central Coast beaches, finding more than 250 in one month is alarming. That was the case in March, when trained volunteers found 253 murres dead along 11 Monterey Bay beaches. That's 17 times higher than the average find of 15 birds in annual surveys since 1997. This is the third straight year that there's been an increase in the number of dead birds. The problem seems to be that the birds aren't able to access their food, either because there isn't enough of it in the ocean or because they just survived their first winter and they're inexperienced in catching their prey. An inadequate food supply is usually a sign of changes in the water and currents. Other species of birds were found dead in Marin County and along the Oregon Coast, including horned puffins, tufted puffins and rhinoceros auklets. Reports of emaciated birds washing ashore have tapered off since late March.

CANADA - A biologist and bird expert has some theories about the deaths of a large number of birds that washed ashore in Holyrood on Friday [6 Apr 2007]. The birds are thick billed murs and common murs. The deaths may be due to avian cholera or starvation. In November and December 2006, there was a major outbreak of avian cholera offshore and it affected mostly large gulls, with a little bit inshore near St. John's. Avian cholera, also known as fowl cholera, is one of the most common diseases among wild North American waterfowl. This disease kills swiftly, sometimes in as few as 6 to 12 hours after infection, and healthy birds can contract the disease from bacteria released into the environment by dead and dying birds. The other option is that the birds have been unable to get food for a while due to wind conditions or unavailability. Birds have also been turning up in other areas. There have been birds close to shore looking lethargic, which can indicate illness. They have been turning up all along the Southern Avalon, essentially from Witless Bay all the way down to St. Shotts.

In recent weeks media outlets have been bombarded with startling reports of mass bird deaths from numerous regions across the globe, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Most recently Costa Rica has joined the list of countries observing these mysterious and unexplained bird deaths. Scientists have yet to determine the cause or reason why many bird and foul species are becoming sick, unable to digest their food, or just simply confused with regard to their surroundings.

AUSTRALIA - A blood testing clinic, to test for lead in the townspeople's blood, will open in Esperance amid fears heavy metals shipped out of the West Australian port may have contaminated water in the town. This comes as authorities investigating the mysterious deaths of more than 4000 birds around the town found they probably died of lead poisoning, prompting a health scare. New tests have now found high levels of lead and traces of nickel in some water tanks near the port, which has been ordered to stop all lead carbonate shipments while investigations continue.

March 2007 - INDIANA - There were roughly 30 dead birds, starlings to be specific, lying in one spot on Route 422. Why the starlings were dead in the middle of the road isn't immediately clear. Whatever the case, the coordinator of Armstrong County's West Nile program said it seemed strange that so many birds would be dead in one spot. Though he said he doesn't think West Nile virus is to blame - the season hasn't started yet - he said he would look into it. Off the top of his head, he said he thought poison or some other illness could be to blame.

March 2007 - SAUDIA ARABIA - Hundreds of bird deaths that were reported in four days to the Agriculture Ministry’s hotlines in Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah tested negative to the lethal H5NI avian flu strain. “The bird deaths reported are about pigeons and sparrows that are highly resistant to the bird flu strain. The reported deaths are due to other diseases” that don’t affect humans.

3/18/07 -
AUSTRALIA - Esperance residents remain deeply concerned over possible exposure to lead poisoning which has been cited as the likely cause of thousands of bird deaths in the area. The mystery deaths of about 4,000 birds near the town, in Western Australia's south, between December 7 and January 2, had perplexed the Department of Environment and Conservation until tests recently showed the birds probably died of lead poisoning. Another 187 birds have died in the town during the past week. The DEC ordered the Esperance Port Authority to stop all lead carbonate shipments. "We don't know what's going on at the port, it all seems like a bit of a cover-up. There have probably been spillages and leakages for goodness knows how long ... people have no trust in the port." "We've got thousands of birds dead and everyone's asking the question, 'What about our own health?' Why did the system let us down, where are the health authorities, where are the environmental authorities, how was this ever allowed to happen?"

NEW ZEALAND, March 16 - Veterinarians at the University’s Wildlife Ward are investigating the cause of death of the last of a population of endangered yellow-eyed penguins hatched on Stewart Island this breeding season. Although all of the 32 chicks in the island’s Anglim coast monitoring area died, the mainland population did not appear to be affected at this stage. The last chick died of a blood parasite recently discovered on the island, but a number of diseases and environmental factors are believed to be involved in the overall mortality. Investigation is now being focused on the role of disease in Yellow-eyed penguin chicks and methods of reducing mortality. The Yellow-Eyed Penguin Trust says this year’s breeding season is the WORST SINCE MONITORING BEGAN four years ago.

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2/22/07 -
NEW HAMPSHIRE - Scientists are struggling to explain the rare death of 17 loons in New Hampshire, saying warm weather may have confused the threatened species of bird which typically heads to the ocean for winter. The 17 represented about 3 percent of New Hampshire's loon population. Twenty-two male and female Great Northern Divers, known as Common Loons, were found on Saturday and Sunday on Lake Winnipesaukee, many them covered in snow from wind gusts, with their heads tucked into their wings to keep warm. Biologists are unclear why the loons congregated on the ice deep in New Hampshire when they normally migrate to open water in winter. "This is the first time I ever have seen this. It's UNPRECEDENTED." Five birds that survived were transported to the ocean and released. Initial evidence suggests that the loons were in the process of molting new flying feathers, an annual event that usually happens after the birds have migrated for the winter. Last winter, large expanses of the lake did not fully freeze, and some of the loons did not migrate to the ocean. The stranded loons may have stayed at the lake last year as well.

COSTA RICA - February 14 - Authorities are investigating the mysterious deaths of about 500 brown pelicans along the country's Pacific coast over five days but do not suspect bird flu was the cause. The first dead birds were spotted by a fisherman on San Lucas Island, about 10 miles from the coastal city of Punta Arenas. More turned up in the following days at nearby islands and rivers. "This is a situation that is enormously worrisome. But it is hard to know what happened, and so it is better not to speculate." Investigators were collecting tissue samples from the dead birds. Investigators do not think the deaths were caused by bird flu, which is primarily spread by migration. Brown pelicans are not migratory birds, and form stable, permanent colonies. Hospitals have been checked for possible cases of diseases like West Nile virus that could infect both birds and humans. Mosquitoes can spread that disease by biting infected birds and then biting humans. No such cases have been found so far.

CALIFORNIA - February 14 - HUNTINGTON BEACH – Dead and dying shorebirds are turning up around the Santa Ana River mouth, the survivors suffering from seizures and the cause unknown. Up to 50 seabirds, and possibly more, may have been affected. "We're fighting like heck to get the toxins out of them." While the symptoms the birds exhibit in some ways resemble those of domoic acid poisoning – the result of an ocean-borne toxin that can affect birds and sea mammals – there was no apparent evidence of the red tide associated with domoic acid. "We don't think it's in the food chain. It seems more like they're sharing the same area, the same water." It was unknown whether there was a threat to people swimming in the area. There were no signs of unusually high bacteria levels and no indications of chemical spills that might be affecting the water. Some high bacteria levels were seen Monday, which happens typically after storms, but those levels had dropped by Tuesday. The bird species affected included western grebes, eared grebes, ring-billed gulls, California gulls, a pelican, brants, cormorants, double-crested cormorants, a rare rhino auklet and a lesser scaup. Most of the affected birds appeared to be cormorants. An American avocet brought in Monday with seizures was among the sick birds that have survived the illness.
FOLLOW UP, April 5 - Early in February and March, the beaches of Orange County saw the onset of a rash of illness and death among a variety of species of marine fowl. With many different birds found suffering within only a week's time, scientists are still looking for a cause. An estimated 25 to 30 dead cormorants were reportedly found in Newport Beach between the Santa Ana River and the city's pier. Other birds fell from the sky. Analyses were done on the blood and stomach contents of several of the birds brought into the care center that were seizing and displaying other symptoms potentially indicative of toxic algae poisoning. Algal species that produce demoic acid can bloom along the Orange County coastline, and if planktivorous fish, such as sardines and anchovy, consume the algae, they can become a demoic acid-contaminated food source for seabirds and sea lions. Only one of seven samples tested positive for demoic acid. "It's not enough to suggest that this is algal toxin-related." Lab techs were looking for evidence of fungal bacteria, and tests came back negative for organic phosphates and neoplasia. Of the birds that were brought in alive, only 10 percent recovered and were released into the wild. "As of yet, we do not know the exact cause of these deaths, but what we do know is that something acute and neurological happened to the affected birds. It's interesting that we had 14 different species that were affected the same way by the incident, and yet they all have different eating habits." With the heavy rainfall that came just before the onset of the illness in these different indigenous species to the Santa Ana River mouth, scientists are speculating that the problem may be riverborne and could have originated as far up the river as the Prado Dam.

DENVER, COLORADO - February 16 - The number of mysterious duck deaths is higher and more widespread than first thought and the problem is not just limited to the Metro wastewater treatment plant. Not only have dead ducks turned up at the metro Denver plant, but also along the South Platte River. Wastewater treatment plants in Thornton, South Adams County, Westminster, Northglenn, and Littleton-Englewood have also reported a higher than normal number of duck deaths. Dead ducks have also been found at the Sunfish Lake near The Breakers apartments in Denver. But at this point, nobody knows why. "No one remembers ducks dying in these kinds of numbers." The problem first showed up at the Metro wastewater treatment plant. Employees found more than 400 ducks dying from hypothermia but don't know what caused it. Plant operators have scrambled to figure out why and have come up empty. "Right now, we haven't found anything different in the water now as opposed to years past." Crews have taken the surviving ducks to rehabilitation facilities around the state. Since no one knows why the ducks are getting sick, treatment is limited. "We just give them things to help flush out what is new in their systems because wildlife are involved with a lot of environmental toxins." Scientists have ruled out avian flu and avian cholera and state health officials said the deaths may have nothing to with the treatments plants. "Histology from the birds shows no clinical signs of disease. There are no conclusive test results pointing to the cause. Additional tests are being conducted...We are focusing on what causes the ducks to lose their waterproofing as well as the cause of the malnutrition evident in many of the birds. There are many factors we need to consider in trying to investigate a die-off and we are doing all we can to methodically apply the science available to us." The state health department said one possible cause for the deaths is the abnormally cold winter.
FOLLOW-UP, March 8 - COLORADO - State and federal biologists have ruled out several causes in the deaths of 850 ducks this winter and were still trying to figure out how they died. Avian flu, bacterial infections and exposure to heavy metals and toxins have been ruled out as culprits in the only mass duck die-off its kind nationally. "We've got more answered questions than we have answers." But the worst appears to be over, just a few dead ducks have been found in the past few days. Starting in January, several dead ducks were found at a northeast-Denver wastewater treatment plant. Others were found at other treatment plants and a lake between Boulder and Highlands Ranch. Biologists believe that most of the ducks died from hypothermia after losing their waterproofing and getting wet. One suggestion is that detergents or substances to keep water from foaming might be responsible. The cold, snowy weather likely contributed to the deaths. About 50 ducks found along the South Platte River were dry but had starved to death. Most of the ducks were Northern Shovelers, which have a large, spoon-shaped bill. The ducks have wintered in Colorado for the past several years. Some ailing ducks were nursed back to health at a sanctuary and released. About 40 ducks are still being treated.

ALBERTA, CANADA - February 22 - Wildlife experts are examining another 50 ducks found dead along the Bow River on Wednesday, bringing the total number of dead birds discovered this week to 115. Test results won’t be available to confirm the cause of death until later this week, but the likely culprit is a bacteria or viral infection. It’s not likely the H5N1 strain of avian bird flu that’s been responsible for bird deaths and mass culls in other parts of the world. "There’s no reason for the public to be concerned." The rapid spread of disease isn’t uncommon among birds during the winter months when large areas of their habitat freezes, forcing them to live in closer proximity. "When we have concentrated groups of animals, it’s a breeding ground for diseases, infections (and) bacteria. This is a natural phenomenon." In previous years, large groups of birds have fallen victim to avian cholera in Calgary.

2/8/07 -
AUSTRALIA - More mass bird deaths have been reported in Western Australia but authorities do not believe they are related to the mystery scourge that killed thousands of birds in the state's south a month ago. The department has recently received reports of groups of dead birds - up to as many as 200 - at Yealering, Kellerberrin, Cunderdin, Kulin and Kukerin, in the state's wheatbelt. "The recent deaths have coincided with high temperatures of up to 45 degrees Celsius and strong winds, and we believe it's most likely the deaths can be attributed to the extreme weather conditions." The birds reported were mostly ring-necked parrots with numbers ranging from a few up to 200. The DEC has also ruled out any connection between the Esperance bird deaths and the death of about 200 treemartins at a house in Narembeen, 240km east of Perth and 380km from Esperance, in early January. The DEC believes those birds also died because of "extreme weather". WA's Department of Environment and Conservation has been unable to determine what killed up to 4000 nectar-eating birds in and around Esperance between December 7 and January 2. The birds were found dead near water sources such as sprinklers and water tanks. The DEC said bird viruses and bacteriological causes had been ruled out as the cause of death and toxins were still the most likely culprit.

2/1/07 -
AUSTRALIA - A month after thousands of birds died around Esperance, in Western Australia's south, investigating authorities still have not established a cause.
1/17/07 -
AUSTRALIA - Another 200 dead birds have been found in WA, taking the total number to die in mysterious circumstances in the state to 4000. There was a new report of at least 200 dead swallows in Narembeen, about 240km east of Perth and 380km from Esperance. The swallows apparently died earlier this month during large storms that passed through the wheatbelt region. Investigations into the mysterious death of thousands of birds in have been widened, with toxins now considered a possible cause. Autopsies have ruled out viral and bacteriological causes. About 4000 birds were found dead around Esperance, on the state's south coast. The birds, mostly yellow-throated miners, wattle birds, new holland honey eaters silvereyes, plus some seagulls and pigeons, were found dead near water sources such as sprinklers and water tanks. The first finds were reported in early December. "We don't know if this latest event is linked to the Esperance bird deaths."

KENYA - Lesser flamingos (Phoeniconaias minor) at Lake Bogoria, Kenya, are suffering from malnutrition, report Earthwatch-supported scientists working there. The scientists are investigating the causes of recent large-scale mortality events, resulting in the death of thousands of lesser flamingos in Kenya last year and at least half a million birds during the 1990s. Post-mortem examinations on several flamingos found dead at Bogoria in late 2006 revealed that the birds weighed just 63 per cent of their normal body mass, approximately 1,050 grams. An analysis of the lake water confirmed that very low levels of spirulina (a blue-green bacteria that is the primary food source for lesser flamingos) were leaving the birds with only 10 per cent of their minimum daily food requirements. "It is unknown why the birds did not simply leave Bogoria. We speculate that these birds may had arrived at Bogoria already in poor condition and were unable to regain enough strength to move on." Coincidently, the flamingos observed at Bogoria also tended to be a paler shade of pink, indicating that they were not in good enough condition to breed. Behavioral changes in the flamingos were also observed. The birds were not wading or feeding in groups along the shoreline as normal, but instead were dispersed and feeding primarily in the open water. Flamingos were routinely observed feeding from small rain puddles in fields and even in the road, making themselves vulnerable to other causes of mortality. "In seven years of working at Lake Bogoria, I have never seen lesser flamingos feeding from streams and puddles. Clearly the birds are looking for an emergency food supply." "They may also suffer from poisoning as the blue–green bacteria found in hot streams are more likely to produce dangerous toxins."

February 2007 - TEXAS - Nobody’s calling it bird flu, but robins are dropping dead all over Baylor University Campus, Waco. They believed the bird deaths on campus are a result of winter weather, but admit THIS IS THE WORST CASE OF SEASONAL DEATHS seen in Waco.

1/14 -
MORE MASS BIRD DEATHS - This time in the NETHERLANDS. (website is in the Dutch language). Some dozens of dead sea birds have washed ashore. The animals have been stained with a greenish-yellow substance, which may have been drained into the sea by a ship. The Korps rural police forces had gotten reports that there was plankton with a greenish substance floating in the sea between Zijpe, Den Helder and Texel. About 60 sea-birds were found dead on the beach from the 8th to 10th of January. They were of several species, but all species that live off or around the sea. The beach area where they are found stretches for about 40 kilometers. There are claims that the birds must have come in contact with some type of green-yellowish toxic substance, of which the exact source is unknown, but which was also found during those days on Dutch beaches. Even though most of these deaths are being related to some type of poisoning regarding this substance, there has not been any actual proof of that yet. The substance contains mainly sulphur, with, to a lesser degree, metal and organic components, which indicate an industrial detergent. What the mixture exactly is, is still unclear. (photos / video)

1/10/07 -
AUSTRALIA - A major phenomena has occurred over the West Australian coastal town of Esperance. Several thousands of birds, of many different species, have mysteriously dropped dead out of the sky. Investigations by scientists and vetinarians in the West Australian capital of Perth have failed to discover the cause of the mass deaths. The Australian newspaper says all the residents of flood-devastated Esperance know, is that their 'dawn chorus' of singing birds is missing. The main casualties are wattle birds, yellow-throated miners, new holland honeyeaters and singing honeyeaters, although some dead crows, hawks and pigeons have also been found. Wildlife officers are baffled by the 'catastrophic' event, which the Department of Environment and Conservation said began well before a freak storm last week. The first reports of birds dropping dead in people's yards came in three weeks ago. More than 500 deaths had since been notified. But the calls stopped suddenly last week, reportedly because no birds were left. Birds Australia, the nation's main bird conservation group, said it had not heard of a similar occurrence. 'Not on that scale, and all at the same time, and also the fact that it's several different species. You'd have to call that a MOST UNUSUAL event and one that we'd all have to be concerned about.' The state Department of Agriculture and Food, which conducted the autopsies, has almost ruled out an infectious process. Acting chief veterinary officer said there were no leads yet on which of potentially hundreds of toxins might be responsible. Some birds were seen convulsing as they died. [In September tens of thousands of spectacled flying foxes went missing in far north Queensland in the aftermath of Cyclone Larry, baffling scientists as to their whereabouts. Flying fox numbers in the hardest hit areas of Innisfail, El Arish and Gordonvale had fallen from around 250,000 to 30,000.]

TEXAS - The mystery of why dozens of birds died suddenly in Downtown Austin has been solved. The birds were found lying in the middle of Congress Ave. last week, raising concerns about public safety. Now doctors say parasites and cold weather are to blame. Temperatures dropped from about 50 degrees to 40 degrees the night before the 63 birds were found dead. In addition, pathologists found parasites in the birds' muscles, tissues and brains.
TEXAS - The discovery of 63 dead birds in downtown Austin led officials to close off part of the Texas city's busy commercial area, but it was reopened after investigators found no danger to humans. The closure came on a day when several odd incidents occurred, including a mysterious gas smell in New York City. The finding of the dead birds prompted Austin officials to test the city's air for dangerous substances, but they found nothing noxious and reopened the streets around midday. The dead birds - grackles, sparrows and pigeons - were being checked for avian flu, but officials said they saw no symptoms and believed it more likely they had been poisoned, possibly deliberately, or affected by near-freezing weather.

Janaury 2007 - COLORADO - About 40 dead birds littered a short stretch of U.S. Highway 287 south of the city of Longmont. Boulder County health officials and the Colorado Division of Wildlife were coordinating efforts to investigate the site. The birds were likely starlings killed by a passing truck. Considering whipping winds in parts of Boulder County on Monday and the fact that starlings tend to flock at night and in large colonies, a gust might have thrown the colony into the path of a tall vehicle such as a semi truck…“There were slews of starlings on the (telephone) lines, like they were in mourning. Then I saw all these black balls on the road and realized they were birds. It was kind of eerie, kind of Steven King-ish.”

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December 13, 2006 -
IDAHO - Officials scrambled to determine what has caused the deaths of thousands of mallard ducks in south-central Idaho near the Utah border. Although wildlife experts are downplaying any links to bird flu, they have sent samples to government labs to test for the deadly H5N1 flu strain, among other pathogens. Wildlife officials are calling the massive die-off alarming, with the number of dead mallards rising from 1,000 on Tuesday to more than 2,000 by Wednesday afternoon. "We've never seen anything like this - ever." Preliminary findings by state veterinarians suggest the mallards succumbed to a bacterial infection, officials said. They said it was unclear why a similar outbreak had never before occurred in Idaho. The only mallard die-off roughly equivalent in recent years happened in Waterloo, Iowa in 2005, when 500 ducks died from a fungus they contracted by eating moldy grain. Early clues suggest the outbreak in Idaho is not linked to insecticides applied to surrounding croplands because it is not affecting other bird species or predators feeding on the dead ducks.

September 2006 - ALASKA - More than 1,600 sea bird carcasses have washed onto Unalaska shores over the last two days in a mysterious die-off that scientists are scrambling to understand. The captain of a boat reported that a hail of shearwaters struck his boat for up to 30 minutes. The crew pitched the dead and dying birds overboard. At Fairbanks, they counted just over 1,600 carcasses on the pebbled shores near homes in Unalaska and along beaches outside the Aleutian island community. The birds don't appear thin and aren't oiled. Some had necks twisted at odd angles, as if they had smashed into something. Starvation would be a far more likely cause for the deaths than a collision. It's not unusual to have birds dying, but to have hundreds or thousands of them dying at once is UNUSUAL. They expect the total number of dead birds is much larger than the 1,600 carcasses that have been found.

September 2006 - UNITED KINGDOM - Birdwatchers and residents have reported dead sparrows, chaffinches and goldfinches, mainly in south west England and the Midlands. “The dramatic increase in the number of finch mortality incidents reported by members of the public is deeply concerning. It is essential that further research is now undertaken so that we can gain a better understanding of the reasons for the disease emergence, and to assess the parasite's impact on our bird populations.” “It is an UNUSUALLY LARGE outbreak. Trichomoniasis usually affects pigeons and doves, but this summer it seems to have affected finches and house sparrows.”

July 2006 - U.S. East Coast - Since June 12, more than 500 dead sea birds have been reported from Maryland to Florida. "It's unusual to see so many." Wildlife pathologists are examining the birds for exposure to toxins, pollutants and infections. Almost 200 birds have washed up in South Carolina. "In 20 years here, I have never seen this kind of mortality event. It certainly is a concern to us, and we'd like to know the cause."

July 5, 2006 - CALIFORNIA - Dead, sickly birds wash up on Calif. beach. Bird rescuers believe dozens of dead and sickly baby terns washed up suddenly on beaches here after something scared them out of their nests on an abandoned barge and into the water, where they couldn't swim. Rescuers collected the bodies of about 200 Caspian and elegant tern chicks after getting calls from lifeguards earlier in the day on June 28th. The birds were all about a month old and many hadn't even grown feathers yet. The die-off comes just days after an unusual number of starving and weak baby pelicans showed up on area beaches in northern California.

3/29/06 - WEST COAST OF NORTH AMERICA - Once again, things are starting to look weird along the West Coast. A rash of BIRD DEATHS has scientists wondering if they're seeing a repeat of last year, when they were alarmed by throngs of dead birds washing up on beaches, underfed whales and the failure of Washington's largest seabird-nesting colony, among other developments. Like last year, scientists say, this year's bird deaths appear related to changes in the marine food web that they still don't understand but that look as if they are related to unusual weather. Many are so scrawny that researchers say it's virtually a foregone conclusion that they starved to death. Dead birds have been turning up along the Pacific coast from the Columbia River south to about Newport, Ore., and in British Columbia. "There's something happening. ... We've got signals that there's something amiss." Researchers are convinced that much of what they saw in 2005 was related to an interruption of the normal spring weather patterns, with overly warm, nutrition-poor ocean water hanging around when cold, food-filled ocean water normally moves in. They say it's easy to see why that happened: Wind that usually kicks up this time of year failed to do so. But they don't know why the wind didn't blow.
OREGON - hundreds of seabirds have been washing up dead among the plastic bottles, styrofoam, wood and other junk in the driftline on South Coast beaches this month. Hundreds of carcasses of rhinoceros auklets, possibly as many as 20 or 30 per mile, have been reported since Sunday, the 12th. Some are just a jumble of bones or scrap of skin with a beak or legs attached. Those are the hard ones for people to identify. Drizzle, gusty winds and ultimately pounding storms have smashed into Oregon off and on for almost three months. “The questions in my mind are: Is this something that's widespread in Oregon? Is it a freak event like a storm or something that's going to last longer?” asked a seabird researcher. There were no reports of an increase of dead auklets washing up on Washington's shores, nor in California. Populations at seabird colonies off San Francisco look normal at the start of breeding season. Rhinoceros auklets live most of their lives at sea. They are scrappy, constant flyers. They are deep divers. Their health can give clues about the health of the ocean's food chain. Countless thousands likely winter in the waters off Oregon, though no one knows for sure how many because few folks venture tens and hundreds of miles onto the stormy Pacific for winter research. And as to whether the die-off will be harmful, no one knows. One man has checked the same stretch of beach every day for almost thirty years. He found 45 rhino auks in the first 13 days of the month. It blew apart his record over the past 28 years that was for 13 dead ones for the entire month of March. “This isn't a storm kind of incident. The birds we checked are very thin. At the time they first showed, there was no storm.”

March 2006 - CAMEROON - Some 240 birds were discovered dead in a poultry farm in the Isokolo neighbourhood in Limbe town. Cameroon was the fourth African country to confirm the presence of the H5N1 virus, which can infect and kill humans. The government told Cameroonians "not to panic", saying "another disease could cause the massive death of birds not only the bird flu".

March 2006 - BAHAMAS - Ten birds, whose decomposed carcasses were found, appeared to have died some time ago of unexplained causes. Earlier reports of higher numbers included several birds that had died of explainable causes, including aging, hunting, and a dog attack. The veterinary officer said there were no signs of illness in other birds in the area, as might be expected if the lethal H5N1 bird flu virus were present.
FLAMINGOS - 15 of the island's famed flamingos, five roseate spoonbills and one cormorant have been found dead with no external injuries on the island of the Bahamas. The National Trust president said he had never known such a large number of bird deaths in the Bahamas at one time. "This is a very large number of birds to be found dead at Inagua. This is HIGHLY UNUSUAL."

February 2006 - INDIA - Forty-seven birds — 40 shovellers, three common teals, two black-headed gulls, one little cormorant and one egret — were found dead. In the course of investigations, Yamuna water samples have been sent for analysis though forest officials, unwilling to be named, said that the toxic chemical responsible for killing the birds may be mercury.

February 15, 2006 - ILLINOIS - SNOW GEESE - dead snow geese found southeast of Springfield spread across 4 miles in early January probably died after severe wather caused the birds to crash into the ground. The storm that killed the birds was probably the same one that created a "microburst" of straight-line winds that toppled utility poles and damaged mobile homes on January 2. The birds were not poisoned, as many people first suspected. "The medical examiner's report said that the lesions observed in the snow geese were consistent with the birds falling from the sky, rupturing internal organs and bleeding internally. " Finding the dead birds spread across a large area was strange, because birds that have been poisoned often are found clustered together. The examiner said this is the first time in 14 years he has heard of a case of bird deaths that turned out to be weather-related. “This flock was probably in the wrong place at the wrong time.” While severe weather may have been the cause this time, people who discover large numbers of dead birds should not dismiss the event as normal.
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December 2005 - MALAWI - Thousands of birds dropped dead last week in central Malawi, with health officials urging people not to eat the birds because of fears for avian influenza, which has already claimed 70 lives in Asia since 2003.

September 16, 2005 - MINNESOTA - A sudden blast of wind is the suspected cause of the death of dozens, perhaps hundreds, of migrating songbirds found floating in Lake Superior. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources staff collected about 50 of the birds after receiving a report from anglers about hundreds of them east of Grand Marais. The tiny birds were found in debris lines, sometimes called bug slicks, where flotsam gathers on the lake's surface. But there were other reports, as far away as Tofte, so there were probably a lot more. We'll never really know how many." The cause is suspected to be an UNUSUAL BLAST of strong wind that may have overwhelmed the small birds, who were flying during one of the peak migration periods. "The two ideas that hold the most weight are either that they got blown out over the lake and didn't have the energy to get back to shore against the wind, or that some sort of unusually strong wind actually pushed them down into the water." The National Weather Service reported offshore winds on the North Shore at nearly 40 mph early that morning. "That would be enough to do it. Sometimes they just can't make it."

June 2005 - SOUTH CAROLINA - Wildlife experts are investigating the deaths of more than 250 seabirds that have washed ashore at Carolinas beaches in the past week. The strandings are particularly unusual because most of the birds were greater shearwaters, which spend their lives at sea, coming ashore only to breed. Biologists suspect UNUSUAL southeasterly winds in recent days blew exhausted or sick birds toward shore in the Carolinas and Georgia. But some birds who reached the S.C. coast alive had stumbling, uncoordinated movements.
CHINA - The initial reports indicated 150 bar headed geese were found dead on May 4 and another 28 were found in the following few days. Thus, it would seem that birds have been dying for three weeks. The number in these pictures would suggest that the reported 8000 dead birds is a low number that may still be increasing. The massive H5N1 die off is WITHOUT PRECEDENT and suggests that the H5N1 is quite infectious and is killing water birds that are normally not affected by H5N1. Photos

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January 2004 - PAKISTAN - VULTURES - The recent puzzling crash in vulture populations in Pakistan turns out not to be some new bird plague, as conservationists had first suspected. Instead, birds eating livestock carcasses are dying in response to consuming a veterinary drug. It's the first time a common therapeutic drug has been documented to cause an ecological disaster. Without swift intervention, "all three [vulture] species will likely become extinct in the wild within 5 years." Vultures play an important part in curbing ominous diseases such as anthrax and foot-and-mouth because the birds dispose of animal carcasses quickly.