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Blackbirds fall from Arkansas Sky (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Kits
- Start date
Hi Jim
I think the quote about the 'Blackbirds' having bad eyesight does not make sense as the birds have to survive and stop themselves being predated on ie by Sparrowhawks :eek!:
Imagine a flock of shortsighted Blackbirds flying about the planet - it does not make sense as all animals are equiped to protect themselves and live as part of the eco system. o
Regards
Kathy
x
Exactly - news spread fast and I hope that is all we are going to hear now
Regards
Kathy
x
The 2 species often roost together, so the presence of starlings among the dead Red-wings is maybe not unexpected. Grackles, cowbirds & crows also sometimes form part of these mixed species roosts, but AFAIK there have been no reports of these birds as yet among the present crop of casualties.
I think you might be on to something there! Next, I guess, is the rivers running dry & the sun turning blood red at noon.
Irish Kite
Well-known member
Given their record I wouldn't put anything passed them!!
Hi Jim
I think the quote about the 'Blackbirds' having bad eyesight does not make sense as the birds have to survive and stop themselves being predated on ie by Sparrowhawks :eek!:
Imagine a flock of shortsighted Blackbirds flying about the planet - it does not make sense as all animals are equiped to protect themselves and live as part of the eco system. o
Regards
Kathy
x
Besides, even if they were poor-sighted, it would be a bit of a coincidence if three thousand of them had a simultaneous Mr Magoo moment!
MJB
Well-known member
I don't expect the media to get basic things right when out of their comfort zone, so don't be surprised if their incomprehension of the natural world results in elementary errors and over-simplifications! The problem is that media mis-statements, when repeated often enough, are welcomed as ammunition by those who think Palin and her ilk are the answer to everything, when we know that Douglas Adams got it right when insisting that '42' was the correct and only answer!
MJB
turkish van
Number 1 celebrity badger
It's not just in the skies: http://news.sky.com/skynews/Article/201101115880847
Birds and fish, what's next....?
Birds and fish, what's next....?
turkish van
Number 1 celebrity badger
'Million Fish Found Dead' is currently number 1 trending topic on twitter in the UK, but nowhere to be seen in the US!
UK comments are mainly made up of:
'Oh dear, zombie apocalypse imminent'
and
'Who the hell counted them all'
UK comments are mainly made up of:
'Oh dear, zombie apocalypse imminent'
and
'Who the hell counted them all'
dantheman
Bah humbug
Insects? ... Pedestrians? ... Plants? ... who knows?
Actually, come to think of it, loads of plants and flowers (even millions and millions) died a few months ago ... wonder if it was related?
bkrownd
Well-known member
I heard drops of water fell from the sky recently. I stayed indoors so as not to be exposed to this questionable chemical... :t:
They were clearly Starlings so I don't know whether they are not considered explainable because of their being an introduced species and not worth mentioning or what. Not good reporting as far as I'm concerned though.
My guess is that anything without an obvious red shoulder patch is written off by the average reporter as a female red-wing.
The fireworks theory appears to be gaining ground:
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/w...onal/Arkansas.bird.deaths.blamed.on.fireworks
Note that nobody is claiming that fireworks are responsible for all such incidents, but only this particular one.
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/w...onal/Arkansas.bird.deaths.blamed.on.fireworks
Note that nobody is claiming that fireworks are responsible for all such incidents, but only this particular one.
dantheman
Bah humbug
Given the date, fireworks was my initial first reaction, followed by supposing it could have been weather related given the news of the weather at the time ...
Sorry to harp on about it, but the conspiracy theory scenarios can't be completely ruled out imo ... considering the multiple beachings and deaths of various cetaceans (dolphins and small whales mainly) around the world were until recently (possibly still are) completely and categorically denied by naval agencies as having anything to do with them and their sonar charges etc ... hmmm, yeah right ...
(btw not saying the US necessarily did for the Blackbirds ...)
Sorry to harp on about it, but the conspiracy theory scenarios can't be completely ruled out imo ... considering the multiple beachings and deaths of various cetaceans (dolphins and small whales mainly) around the world were until recently (possibly still are) completely and categorically denied by naval agencies as having anything to do with them and their sonar charges etc ... hmmm, yeah right ...
(btw not saying the US necessarily did for the Blackbirds ...)
The articles are making more sense now, but are still devoid of any real evidence. They now say: "Blackbirds have poor night vision and typically do not fly at night." That I can believe as opposed to earlier articles that said Blackbirds had very poor eyesight. But it's still implausible, though not impossible, that there would be several freakish occurrences in the same region of the country over the span of a few days and one would have a unique cause unrelated to the others. If they don't know what caused the other deaths, they can't really know that that same cause was involved in the deaths where there were fireworks. The presence of fireworks may have simply been a coincedence, and I've seen nothing in the articles to suggest otherwise. Just a convenient scapegoat to put the Arkansas publics mind at ease.
Jim
Jim
The Arkansas Wildlife Commission looking for scapegoats to put the public’s (note the apostrophe) mind at rest? You’re just clutching at straws here, I think.
Coincidences (note the spelling)? We have no real idea how common these events are, as it seems unlikely that the comparable occurrences mentioned in the article--all of which are fairly small-scale--would have been reported outside the region had the Arkansas incident not already achieved national attention.
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