Most of the blogs I write are thought of some time ahead of being posted-- some linger quite awhile before there comes a time they fit. In this case, I had something set up (which had come from quite a time back) until I kept reading about this
This is something I really don't know what to make of. Can you imagine going out and seeing blackbirds dead all over your yard? That definitely does smack of a doomsday scenario along with the ultimate global climate change result.
My own first thought when I read it was-- I have a lot of red-winged black birds showing up here. I better put out more birdseed which I promptly did.
Unfortunately I then saw that the sheep waterer was frozen over. I broke through the ice with a hammer, but it was obvious the flow was stopped due to many days in a row of below freezing temperatures. *sigh* I have been here before and there is only one answer.
Buckets of water would have to be carried from the house. Except the buckets weren't down by the house; so that meant carrying pans of warm or hot water out to the tub as until it thaws as this is the only source of water the sheep would have-- actually it's the only source I want them to have but there is another.
While I don't worry when the cows drink from the creek-- fortunately as can you imagine carrying enough buckets of water to supply 30 head of cattle? No thanks-- the sheep are more worrisome as they could end up in the creek. If I think it's no fun to carry water, can you imagine going into the creek when air temperatures are below freezing, the creek is high and the water is racing by while your task is to drag out a soaked (might I add resisting) sheep, wool full of water. It's been done by Farm Boss but definitely not on my bucket list.
So back to the topic. What do you think this die off of birds is about?
They say it has happened before but not this many. They say the birds might've been startled to fly in the middle of the night by fireworks... They say the deaths were due to blunt force trauma. They have to be kidding on that one. What do they think happens if a bird hits the ground hard. Frankly they say a lot of things but what the heck do you think is going on?
While I wait for the theories to pile up, I'll carry more seed and water out as I carry firewood in. I'm more than ready for a warm up!
6 comments:
Well, sad to say, the birds are dead. That much we know for certain. I tend to think that environment plays a role here, but that is a guess. How about those 2 million fish dying in Delaware ?
"What do you think this die off of birds is about?" According to one article I read it's because in parts of the deep south, family members often intermarry and this is the bird version.
Hi Rain . . . This is indeed a sad mystery. It doesn't seem plausible that the bird deaths are linked somehow to the dead fish - yet coincidence appears to be a stretch doesn't it?
Lot's of theories, but only theories. I've seen no positive answer.
Paul is probably right. Must be connected (somehow) to our environment. I immediately think of Katrina and the BP oil spill in the gulf. Could the deaths be related to either or both? Bump
I heard about this on the radio, and it made me think about the terrible die off of bats on the east coast. That is from a fungus. Perhaps the birds are dying of some virulent virus. Catastrophic plagues have struck human populations from time to time. It could very well happen again. that would really amount to a sort of apocalypse I suppose.
Very early on the 31st a huge storm spawned a tornado in Westville, Ok and Cincinnati, AR. The line of storms stretched from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico. Later it was reported that birds had fallen from the sky in Beebe, about 150 miles to the east. In the local paper some people have written letters to the editor saying that all the blackbirds in the area have disappeared. They speculated that the storm blew the birds all the way to Beebe. I wouldn't discount that. The cattle egret was never seen in the western hemisphere until the 1940's. Scientist say they either flew from Africa to South America (by the 60's they had spread to North America)or were blown there by a storm. So involuntary migrations caused by storms are not unheard of. The extreme violence of this particular storm may account for the dead birds. Come to think of it, I haven't seen an egret for a couple of years. Hmmm.
Here's another one-- Doves dying in Italy. I realize birds die all the time but how many fall dead from the sky?
We've had the honeybee losses for the last couple of years and before that supposedly less frogs many places. I guess some is just a natural result of nature but it does seem strange on the birds as they apparently dropped dead while flying.
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