Comments on: Smithsonian Bird Curator: Die Off Is Not Such A Big Deal

By: Jessica

Jessica — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 09:51:16 +0000

Happened again in Beebe, AR last night. Only 80 birds counted so far this time though.

By: Kenneth lee

Kenneth lee — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 04:48:39 +0000

The only reason that this is a big deal is because of the media. They happen all of the time and with more media coverage it just seems like it is something new when this has been happening for longer than people have been around.

By: Blackbird Deaths Explained: Smithsonian Bird Curator Weighs In | Around The Mall

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 21:16:21 +0000

[...] findings come as no surprise to Gary Graves, a Smithsonian curator of birds, who predicted a similar conclusion earlier this month. “Well, it’s kind of what I expected,” [...]

By: It’s Raining Fish. Hallelujah? | FishiLeaks

It’s Raining Fish. Hallelujah? | FishiLeaks — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 16:15:08 +0000

[...] agree with the Smithsonian bird curator who thinks that the bird kill is an arbitrary event, and not even an uncommon one, that’s [...]

By: Marilyn Miller

Marilyn Miller — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:07:44 +0000

I go with the Blackeyed pea theory.January 1st is the magic day for injesting a helping of peas to insure luck for the year. Depending on luck for those who ate the peas the bird demise would be really good. For the birds, they must have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Send them to visit the media who made such a big deal of the event and then we might all agree that some natural thinning would be a good thing. If you did not eat blackeyed peas, cornbread, rice and pork chops than you are not professional trained enough to present a theory.

By: The Impending Chimpocalypse » Bird expert: Don’t worry too much about the Deadbirdpocalypse

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 07:28:32 +0000

[...] Smithsonian Institution bird curator Gary Graves apparently has a similar perspective. He doesnt think these bird deaths are a sign of anything nefarious—or, at least, nothing more nefarious than local people taking it upon themselves to stress out a large roost of ‘nuisance’ birds until it flies away. Theres a head count associated with that kind of thing, he says, and its not particularly odd to see a few thousand birds die this way. But, with roosts numbering in the millions of birds, thats not a large percentage lost. The only thing different in this case, he says, is that the dead birds landed on lawns, rather than in the wilderness. [...]

By: Sal Monella

Sal Monella — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 05:20:55 +0000

Overlooked is the fact that people in the affected areas eat more than share of black eyed peas.
Coincidence?
I think not.

By: Science News Round-up! « Earth « Science Today: Beyond the Headlines

Science News Round-up! « Earth « Science Today: Beyond the Headlines — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 21:54:48 +0000

[...] Hail storms? Fireworks? The end of the world? There’s been much hype and speculation, but scientists don’t appear to be worried. The Academy’s own Jack Dumbacher is getting samples from the [...]

By: Northeast Intelligence Network » Fish & Bird kills: are we getting answers or being placated?

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 21:30:31 +0000

[...] on record, saying that the significance of the event has been exaggerated and the massive “die off is not such a big deal.” Sure enough, as about 163 such events are reported on an annual basis, although most seem to [...]

By: CharlyKabarli.NL » Vogelregen; niets aan de hand

CharlyKabarli.NL » Vogelregen; niets aan de hand — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 15:25:28 +0000

[...] lieten hun fantasie de vrije loop. Maar waarschijnlijk is het allemaal niet zo spectaculair. Gary Graves die zich al ongeveer 25 jaar bezighoudt met het onderzoeken van vogels zegt dan ook ‘It sounds [...]

By: Mina

Mina — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 09:46:35 +0000

And what about the episodes all around the globe during this week? Are they normal? So far 30 episodes have been reportend in Italy, Sweeden, Brazil, New Zeland and other countries since the new year. http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=201817256339889828327.0004991bca25af104a22b

By: tki

tki — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 03:05:41 +0000

I believe it is aspergillis! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspergillus

By: Liz Stewart

Liz Stewart — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 20:24:41 +0000

I wonder if the Annual Christmas Bird Count has been talleyed yet? How might this affect the numbers?? I love birds and believe they are one of the least damaging, if any, invasive species. That is an unsupported opinion. Anyway, That is an awful lot of birds to lose, remember they EAT INSECTS!!

By: Tee

Tee — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 19:32:46 +0000

I agree with Amanda’s comments, and think that the “fireworks” explanation is ridiculous. Do
not believe in cover ups, but also don’t believe in coming up with simplistic explanations. Plus, has anyone seen “Flash Forward”? Crows in that plot died as a result of unusual experimentation…just saying…

By: Amanda

Amanda — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 18:08:10 +0000

There were also bird deaths in Ky. The bird deaths in Louisiana and Ky were not on New Years Eve and yet they still continue to say it must have been the fireworks that killed the same birds 100 miles away on a different day…

Also, I heard the fish died a during the week before New Years.

I do not believe for a second it was fireworks. I don’t think it was aliens or government conspiracies either but I think the fireworks explanation needs to be put to rest since it cannot explain the deaths of the exact same species only hundreds of miles away on a different day.