Dead birds and fish in Arkansas

[EnumaElish]

'A state veterinarian tells NBC that preliminary necropsy results show that the birds died of "multiple blunt trauma to their vital organs." ' -- http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110103/ts_yblog_thelookout/massive-bird-fish-kills-in-arkansas-leave-many-scratching-heads

Would that be a hailstorm?

What about the fish, only a coincidence?

 

[Evo]

Poor things could have gotten caught in a strong system and battered with hail. Terrible.

The fish seem to be a coincidence and it's only one species, so they ruled out pollutants.

 

[lisab]

Why were they flying at night in the first place? Black birds aren't night birds.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Why were they flying at night in the first place? Black birds aren't night birds.

There was speculation that they were frightened by something, perhaps lightning, and then took flight.

 

[Evo]

I heard it was fireworks, it was New Year's Eve.

 

[NeoDevin]

I heard it was fireworks, it was New Year's Eve.

That was my understanding as well, from the news stories I've read.

 

[EnumaElish]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/another-large-bird-kill-reported-this-time-in-louisiana leads me to think that fireworks may not be the cause. Isn't "blunt trauma" what you'd expect if they were falling out of the sky? Granted, it's preliminary.

 

[Evo]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/another-large-bird-kill-reported-this-time-in-louisiana leads me to think that fireworks may not be the cause. Isn't "blunt trauma" what you'd expect if they were falling out of the sky? Granted, it's preliminary.

Fireworks still could have sent the first group flying, it was at night.

 

[russ_watters]

Isn't "blunt trauma" what you'd expect if they were falling out of the sky? Granted, it's preliminary.

I was under the impression that the "blunt trauma" happened before they fell out of the sky. As-in, the shock-wave of the thunder-crack or firework explosion killed them.

 

[malm1987]

Seems to me that the media is greatly exaggerating (surprise). They make it seem like if it's the end of the world (some even explicitly said so), but the fact of the matter is that these things happen. Quite often too. Here is a list of the animal deaths during 2010: http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/mortality_events/ongoing.jsp

Funny thing, this same thing happened yesterday here in Sweden. But they found the cause for it rather quickly, a truck driver hit them. The Swedish media wasn't quite so quick to deliver that news though, wasn't sensationalistic enough I guess.

Bottom line, these things happen every now and then. My thoughts goes to the birds friends and relatives;)

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Funny thing, this same thing happened yesterday here in Sweden. But they found the cause for it rather quickly, a truck driver hit them. The Swedish media wasn't quite so quick to deliver that news though, wasn't sensationalistic enough I guess.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/01/05/mass-animals-deaths-worldwide-birds-sweden/

However, the cause of the jackdaws' deaths was disputed after a truck driver claimed he was responsible.

Police told the newspaper the majority of the jackdaws involved were not "physically damaged," which would contradicted the truck driver's account of events.

 

[malm1987]

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/01/05/mass-animals-deaths-worldwide-birds-sweden/

Yeah, I saw that too. Although there is one thing missing in that article; the statement from the truckdriver saying that he is certain that he drove over quite a few, and that the rest must have died of either shock or air-draft from the truck. Honestly, I think that it sounds like a quite plausible explanation=)

 

[jsland]

200,000 dead from a truck at once?
Surely more than one species of bird and one of fish, would be involved in these deaths if it was a general poisoning, or a fly or swim into a poisoned area. "Multiple blunt trauma" internally doesn't suggest a physical external accident unless something is breathed in that is full of chunks of something. But wouldn't that just go to the lungs? And there's always the fish. What causes multiple blunt trauma to the vital organs of ONE species of bird? And maybe it wasn't flying at the time -which the blackbird doesn't normally do overnight-but eating grain (it's a grain bird) which had been poisoned, sprayed, or GMO treated. Then that flock -how many numbers migrate usually together at once?- tries to fly from the place of injury together and the flying makes it worse, spreads it, and they collapse. What if some of what they ate was dumped in the river too?

 

[Evo]

200,000 dead from a truck at once?

No, 70-100.

"Multiple blunt trauma" internally doesn't suggest a physical external accident unless something is breathed in that is full of chunks of something. But wouldn't that just go to the lungs?

Blunt trauma to internal organs doesn't mean that the trauma happened from within, it was external trauma that damaged the internal organs.

And maybe it wasn't flying at the time -which the blackbird doesn't normally do overnight-but eating grain (it's a grain bird) which had been poisoned, sprayed, or GMO treated. Then that flock -how many numbers migrate usually together at once?- tries to fly from the place of injury together and the flying makes it worse, spreads it, and they collapse.

There is no report of poison. Other species of birds would have been affected. The birds (in the case of the event in Arkansas) fell from the sky.

What if some of what they ate was dumped in the river too?

Then it would have affected other fish, not just one species.

 

[malm1987]

200,000 dead from a truck at once?
Surely more than one species of bird and one of fish, would be involved in these deaths if it was a general poisoning, or a fly or swim into a poisoned area. "Multiple blunt trauma" internally doesn't suggest a physical external accident unless something is breathed in that is full of chunks of something. But wouldn't that just go to the lungs? And there's always the fish. What causes multiple blunt trauma to the vital organs of ONE species of bird? And maybe it wasn't flying at the time -which the blackbird doesn't normally do overnight-but eating grain (it's a grain bird) which had been poisoned, sprayed, or GMO treated. Then that flock -how many numbers migrate usually together at once?- tries to fly from the place of injury together and the flying makes it worse, spreads it, and they collapse. What if some of what they ate was dumped in the river too?

I said that the birds in Sweden most likelly died because someone (that even admited to it) ran them over with a huge truck, and that was like 70 birds or something. I did not suggest that the truck was responsible for all the animal casualties around the world. And if you bothered to look things up (hint: USGS works fine for that purpose), then you would see that mass deaths among birds, fish and other species alike are a very common thing.

But hey, what do the people monitoring this stuff for a living know? Nah, it's probably better to trust the national/international media circus. Last year there was an abnormal numbers of earthquakes, and this year there's something equally abnormal regarding animal deaths. Now, perhaps it would be wise to think this over one more time; was there really so many earthquakes last year (no, not according to statistics). The same goes for this over-hyped mass death of animals. These things happen all the time, but now everybody is keen on supporting evidence of this happening in "an alarming rate" and thus we tend to notice it more often now then we did before...

 

[dancer]

Hi I'm Sue and I'm new in here :) nice to know ya!
sorry for my english, I'm Italian so it's not so perfect :).
that's an interesting topic :), the fact is happened around 11:10 p.m (I'm reading on a website) so I think the fireworks aren't. Where I live there are tress and a lot of birds species and on 31 the fireworks can make tremble the houses but I've never seen a thing like this. I found out this new article about dead birds and fish, I'm not a Physician so I don't know what could be but I think that an electromagnetic manipulation could be more reasonable of fireworks. what I ask to myself about it is..."why in Italy nobody talk about it? and Y the news aint really talking about it? " I didn't hear the sweden fact either.

 

[jsland]

No, 70-100.

jsland:Yes, that's why I put exclamations. Why draw a parallel between the truck incident and the 200,000 birds?

Blunt trauma to internal organs doesn't mean that the trauma happened from within, it was external trauma that damaged the internal organs.

jsland:Then they would have reported that: external blows which didn't damage the outer flesh but only the internal organs. All 200,000 of them?

There is no report of poison. Other species of birds would have been affected. The birds (in the case of the event in Arkansas) fell from the sky.

jsland: That's my point. The only way poison would have affected one species is if it entered the blackbirds, who are grain feeders, from some 'tampered' grain that only they were eating.

Then it would have affected other fish, not just one species.

jsland: And once again, that's my point. Then what is the 'accidental' cause?

 

[Evo]

jsland:Yes, that's why I put exclamations. Why draw a parallel between the truck incident and the 200,000 birds?

There are no 200,000 birds. I suggest you read the article again.

 

[dancer]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...Kentucky-Louisiana-dead-fish-wash-ashore.html

Here it explains everything better...I think it's an eletromagnetic thing

 

[dancer]

I meant u know in these years we're having a change...the sun is more near to the Earth and we'll have a Conjunction of all planets and I think we can have more electromagnetic of normal...

 

[Evo]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...Kentucky-Louisiana-dead-fish-wash-ashore.html

Here it explains everything better...I think it's an eletromagnetic thing

According to the article, the massive Arkansas bird death could be the results of fireworks.

Scientists now say that the fireworks appeared to have frightened the birds into such a frenzy that they crashed into homes, cars and each other. Some may have flown straight into the ground.

'The blackbirds were flying at rooftop level instead of treetop level' to avoid explosions above, said Karen Rowe, an ornithologist with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

'Blackbirds have poor eyesight and they started colliding with things.'
But Ms Rowe stopped short of declaring the mystery solved, saying labs planned to test bird carcasses for toxins or disease.

 

[malm1987]

Hi I'm Sue and I'm new in here :) ...but I think that an electromagnetic manipulation could be more reasonable of fireworks. what I ask to myself about it is..."why in Italy nobody talk about it? and Y the news aint really talking about it? " I didn't hear the sweden fact either.

Hi Sue

Please don't assume that coments on the net relates well to reality. The utterly insane talk about either HAARP or Earth's own geodynamo (if that is what you refer to?) causing this is so over the top that you can't even see the ground from there. As far as I know, Blackbirds are not all that dependant on Earth's magnetosphere in order to navigate correctly. Or well, they are to the same extents as most birds are, but if it was caused by magnetospheric fluxes (or the spooky, impending reversal the nutcases are so found of), then why haven't more birds fallen out of the sky? If you can answer why just Blackbirds were affected in Arkansa, then I'll consider magnetspheric influence to be at least a possibility (but it's not=)

 

[dancer]

According to the article, the massive Arkansas bird death could be the results of fireworks.

yes but they can't explain the fish death or the birds dead in kentucky and louisiana instead an elettromagnetic thing can explain everything 'cos the animals can to feel what we can't feel

 

[malm1987]

jsland:Yes, that's why I put exclamations. Why draw a parallel between the truck incident and the 200,000 birds?



jsland:Then they would have reported that: external blows which didn't damage the outer flesh but only the internal organs. All 200,000 of them?



jsland: That's my point. The only way poison would have affected one species is if it entered the blackbirds, who are grain feeders, from some 'tampered' grain that only they were eating.


jsland: And once again, that's my point. Then what is the 'accidental' cause?

Ok, that answered my first question, you're the latter. No one has drawn any type of parallel between the truck incident in Sweden and the other animal deaths, just you.

 

[dancer]

Hi Sue

Please don't assume that coments on the net relates well to reality. The utterly insane talk about either HAARP or Earth's own geodynamo (if that is what you refer to?) causing this is so over the top that you can't even see the ground from there. As far as I know, Blackbirds are not all that dependant on Earth's magnetosphere in order to navigate correctly. Or well, they are to the same extents as most birds are, but if it was caused by magnetospheric fluxes (or the spooky, impending reversal the nutcases are so found of), then why haven't more birds fallen out of the sky? If you can answer why just Blackbirds were affected in Arkansa, then I'll consider magnetspheric influence to be at least a possibility (but it's not=)

wait I saw an article was talking about ducks and another birds species I'll find it out and I'll post

 

[Evo]

yes but they can't explain the fish death or the birds dead in kentucky and louisiana instead an elettromagnetic thing can explain everything 'cos the animals can to feel what we can't feel

They are guessing that unusually cold water could have caused at least one of the fish die offs. Rather than speculating on the improbable, we should wait for the toxicology tests to be done.

 

[DaveC426913]

yes but they can't explain the fish death or the birds dead in kentucky and louisiana instead an elettromagnetic thing can explain everything 'cos the animals can to feel what we can't feel

dancer, if you have some references to back up this 'electromagnetic thing' you keep alluding to, please point us to them. Otherwise, it is utter nonsense and nonscience and will result in an infraction if you keep trying to put it forth.

 

[malm1987]

yes but they can't explain the fish death or the birds dead in kentucky and louisiana instead an elettromagnetic thing can explain everything 'cos the animals can to feel what we can't feel

Again, why only these animals and not others? You do know that there are species that is much more dependant on geomagnetic orientation than Blackbirds do you? Why haven't they fallen from the sky?

These events of mass deaths are common, but the media coverage of these things is more or less new. Before this hype, people didn't care much about a couple of dead birds in a field. But media blows it all out of proportion as allways.

 

[malm1987]

wait I saw an article was talking about ducks and another birds species I'll find it out and I'll post

You do that, and please remember that ATS doesn't count as a source in a scientific discussion;-)

 

[DaveC426913]

These events of mass deaths are common, but the media coverage of these things is more or less new. Before this hype, people didn't care much about a couple of dead birds in a field. But media blows it all out of proportion as allways.

Whether or not this is a rare or weird event, I still find it interesting to know plausible explanations.

Then again, the more I think about it, the more I realize even the "facts" might be wrong.

I've been implicitly assuming
1] it was a whole flock, or least a large portion of a flock
2] they actually dropped out the air, dead
3] they all fell at once and in a small area

It is alternately possible that a giant flock was flying and 5% of that flock died individually over a short time. That makes the possible explanations more more mundane.

 

[malm1987]

Whether or not this is a rare or weird event, I still find it interesting to know plausible explanations.

Then again, the more I think about it, the more I realize even the "facts" might be wrong.

I've been implicitly assuming
1] it was a whole flock, or least a large portion of a flock
2] they actually dropped out the air, dead
3] they all fell at once and in a small area

It is alternately possible that a giant flock was flying and 5% of that flock died individually over a short time. That makes the possible explanations more more mundane.

Absolutelly, and so do I. But judging by USGS and their statistics it would appear as if quite a few of these events never get a proper explanation.

I was looking around and found this link, from USGS, that at least give some perspective of this whole situation: http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/mortality_events/ongoing.jsp

 

[dancer]

in this website says about my theory and u can read "Not only have blackbirds been "falling out of the sky," but many species of birds,as well as reported cases of bat deaths in Arizona."
You can read how the Goethe university study revealed "Scientists at Goethe-Universitat in Frankfurt, Germany, have discovered that a bird can see the Earth's magnetic fields through photoreceptor cells in the bird's right eye. The Goethe-Universitat study revealed that if birds could not see the magnetic field when migrating, they lost their "bearings" and could hurt themselves or even die."

Nasa :" NASA reported in 2008 that there was a "massive breach" in the Earth's magnetic field, detected by THEMIS spacecraft . Solar wind can flow through this breach, causing enormous geomagnetic storms. It is very possible that such a geomagnetic storm is responsible for the current deaths of thousands of birds across the planet."

 

[EnumaElish]

This is somewhat off-topic, but, maybe not. One of the posts said that birds have a magnetic right eye. This reminded me this article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704723104576061990776738036.html

To quote: "Aristotle thought the tuna hugged the right shore because they saw better with their right eye. (They do steer to the right, but their left eyes are just fine)." I wonder if the tuna, even all fish, have a magnetic right-eye; and whether this has anything to do with the fish deaths in AK.

OTOH, the counterargument to the earth-magnetism theory could be, "why only one species (of fish, or bird)"?

 

[Evo]

in this website says about my theory and u can read "Not only have blackbirds been "falling out of the sky," but many species of birds,as well as reported cases of bat deaths in Arizona."

Please do not link to sites that muddle the truth and cause misinformation to be spread. the bats have what is called "white nose syndrome", it is a fungus that is killing them, so not related.

http://www.fws.gov/northeast/pdf/white-nosefaqs.pdf

You can read how the Goethe university study revealed "Scientists at Goethe-Universitat in Frankfurt, Germany, have discovered that a bird can see the Earth's magnetic fields through photoreceptor cells in the bird's right eye. The Goethe-Universitat study revealed that if birds could not see the magnetic field when migrating, they lost their "bearings" and could hurt themselves or even die."

This would not happen in an area of a few miles. if you are interested on how the Earth's magnetic field affects animals, this NOVA transcript is an easy read. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/magnetic/animals.html

Nasa :" NASA reported in 2008 that there was a "massive breach" in the Earth's magnetic field, detected by THEMIS spacecraft . Solar wind can flow through this breach, causing enormous geomagnetic storms. It is very possible that such a geomagnetic storm is responsible for the current deaths of thousands of birds across the planet."

No, it is not responsible. That refers to the South Atlantic Anomoly, it is also well known.

This wiki article will explain it, we have threads on it if you want to know more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Atlantic_Anomaly

I think you really want to learn, so please feel free to ask about the things you are reading, we will be glad to explain what is really happening.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Madison lab solves mystery of Arkansas blackbird die-off
http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/113018024.html

hmmm, doesn't really add anything new or seem conclusive.

 

[turbo]

Madison lab solves mystery of Arkansas blackbird die-off
http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/113018024.html

Not so surprising, IMO. Even in broad daylight, birds around my feeders can be spooked and slam into my house's walls and windows, killing themselves. Spooking roosting birds a night (when they are essentially blind) is a recipe for collisions. When traveling through the south (even as far north as Kentucky along the Ohio river valley) I have seen wintering flocks of varieties of blackbirds that may have numbered in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions. They blacken the sky when they leave the roosts in the morning. It would not be surprising to find a few thousand dead birds if you panicked such huge flocks at night.

 

[DaveC426913]

hmmm, doesn't really add anything new or seem conclusive.

"...they are poor night fliers - and they were in close proximity to neighborhoods, and they flew into homes and cars (and other objects)..."

That's an answer for me.

 

[jreelawg]

Now It's Dead Doves Falling From Sky in Italy

Thousands of dead turtle doves, many of which had a "strange" blue stain inside their beaks, have crashed from the sky in Italy. They're the latest in a puzzling spate of birds, fish and other animals dying under mysterious circumstances around the world.

Residents of Faenza, Italy, described the fallen doves as lying in heaps on flowerbeds, crushed by machinery on the streets or "horribly hung from trees like Christmas balls," Italy's GeaPress reported today.

Initial testing of about 8,000 of the doves indicate the blue beak stain might be from lack of oxygen or poisoning. More conclusive test results may be available next week.

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/07/now-its-dead-doves-falling-from-sky-in-italy/

Just more fuel for the end times conspiracy theorists. If only I had followed my gut instinct and started an apocalypse survival kit company. I had this get rich scheme to sell over the top 2012 survival suits. Metal foil on the outside, equipped with an oxygen tank, an algae bag, a built in inflatable floatation device, a geiger counter, and a first aid kit.

 

[dancer]

Please do not link to sites that muddle the truth and cause misinformation to be spread. the bats have what is called "white nose syndrome", it is a fungus that is killing them, so not related.

http://www.fws.gov/northeast/pdf/white-nosefaqs.pdf

This would not happen in an area of a few miles. if you are interested on how the Earth's magnetic field affects animals, this NOVA transcript is an easy read. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/magnetic/animals.html

No, it is not responsible. That refers to the South Atlantic Anomoly, it is also well known.

This wiki article will explain it, we have threads on it if you want to know more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Atlantic_Anomaly

I think you really want to learn, so please feel free to ask about the things you are reading, we will be glad to explain what is really happening.

Ty :)


http://www.nypost.com/p/news/intern...ll_from_the_sky_deaths_v1jgXA0XgYxa1ssebmU4oO

and yes in Italy too they're saying it's a thermal shock but on monday they'll have the answers of tests

 

[jsland]

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/01/05/mass-animals-deaths-worldwide-birds-sweden/

Someone seems to draw a parallel here "funny, the same thing happened here in Sweden".

Now this today in Quebec City, Canada. This is from "The Star". I'm no conspiracy theorist; just interested in hearing a plausible explanation.

http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/canada/article/737640--more-than-80-dead-birds-found-in-quebec

--------
More than 80 dead birds found in small Quebec town
January 07, 2011

QUEBEC—More than 80 birds have been found dead in a small town west of Quebec City. Residents of St-Augustin-de-Desmaures say the pigeon carcasses began turning up in mid-December. Local fauna officials have opened an investigation and are sending the carcasses for laboratory tests.

Quebec officials are ruling out a connection for the time being. “For the moment, there is nothing linking these deaths to a particular cause or to the deaths of other birds,”[/quote]

 

[Evo]

As can be seen in this USGS report, bird deaths in the thousands are quite common.

http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/mortality_events/ongoing.jsp

 

[limarodessa]

http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/0906/0906.2383v4.pdf

http://prl.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v104/i22/e220502

Quantum Control and Entanglement in a Chemical Compass

Jianming Cai, Gian Giacomo Guerreschi, and Hans J. Briegel


The radical-pair mechanism is one of the two main hypotheses to explain the navigability of animals in weak magnetic fields, enabling, e.g., birds to see Earth’s magnetic field. It also plays an essential role in spin chemistry. Here, we show how quantum control can be used to either enhance or reduce the performance of such a chemical compass, providing a new route to further study the radical-pair mechanism and its applications. We study the role of radical-pair entanglement in this mechanism, and demonstrate its intriguing connections with the magnetic-field sensitivity of the compass. Beyond their immediate application to the radical-pair mechanism, these results also demonstrate how state-of-the-art quantum technologies could potentially be used to probe and control biological functions

In this journal full text is free:

http://iopscience.iop.org/1367-2630/12/8/085016

Coherent triplet excitation suppresses the heading error of the avian compass

AuthorG E Katsoprinakis, A T Dellis and I K Kominis

Radical-ion pair reactions are currently understood to underlie the biochemical magnetic compass of migratory birds. It was recently shown that radical-ion pair reactions form a rich playground for the application of quantum-information-science concepts and effects. We will show here that the intricate interplay between the quantum Zeno effect and the coherent excitation of radical-ion pairs leads to an exquisite angular sensitivity of the reaction yields. This results in a significant and previously unanticipated suppression of the avian compass heading error, opening the way to quantum engineering precision biological sensors

 

[jreelawg]

As can be seen in this USGS report, bird deaths in the thousands are quite common.

http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/mortality_events/ongoing.jsp

I wish I could see a chart going back further. While bird deaths in the thousands aren't that uncommon, bird deaths in the thousands in one night might be. Another significant event at 4300, happened on 9-6-2010 and lasted until 11-25-2010, and includes 5 species, and was caused by 3 different kinds of parasites. Convert that to deaths per day, and you have less than 100. Another one at 2750 deaths, lasted from 11-1-2019, until 12-1-2010, includes one cause and one species. Convert that to deaths per day, and you have less than 100.

Also what I noticed, is that the next largest suspected trauma based mortality event besides the recent blackbird deaths on that chart, would be the bats at 75 due to gun shot. After that, the next highest trauma based morality event is at 50, over a period of about 4 months, and includes 5 different species of birds.

So we have to compare on this chart, 3000 in one night, to 50 in 4 months, when your talking traumatic bird deaths. That is something like .4 birds a day vs 3000, so about 7500 times more traumatic.

In the context of this chart, covering april-2010 to january-2011, the recent bird death is unique. Of coarse something that happens once or twice a year wouldn't be that rare, it would be interesting to see stats far back enough to really tell how rare it is.

 

[Evo]

I wish I could see a chart going back further. While bird deaths in the thousands aren't that uncommon, bird deaths in the thousands in one night might be.

They believe the blackbird incident was caused by fireworks that frightened them and caused them to swarm and crash into objects.

Scientists now say that the fireworks appeared to have frightened the birds into such a frenzy that they crashed into homes, cars and each other. Some may have flown straight into the ground.

'The blackbirds were flying at rooftop level instead of treetop level' to avoid explosions above, said Karen Rowe, an ornithologist with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

'Blackbirds have poor eyesight and they started colliding with things.'
But Ms Rowe stopped short of declaring the mystery solved, saying labs planned to test bird carcasses for toxins or disease.

https://www.physicsforums.com/showpost.php?p=3068781&postcount=21

 

[rhody]

I searched on recent sunspot/magnetic activity http://www.lmsal.com/solarsoft/latest_events/" : and was hoping that an expert could interpret what is shown.

Rhody...

 

[Evo]

I searched on recent sunspot/magnetic activity http://www.lmsal.com/solarsoft/latest_events/" : and was hoping that an expert could interpret what is shown.

Rhody...

Did you post this is the wrong forum?

 

[rhody]

Did you post this is the wrong forum?

Evo,

I hope not, I was thinking that the sensitive little bird brains could be more sensitive to slight magnetic changes, and that would be one possible explanation for at least some of the unexplained mass deaths. I was hoping a ornithologist who also happens to be an expert at weak magnetic fields would weigh in here. hehe...

Rhody...

 

[jreelawg]

December 31, 2010

A solar wind stream flowing from the indicated coronal hole should reach Earth around Jan. 3rd--the first solar wind stream of the New Year. Credit: SDO/AIA.

...
Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 0 quiet
24-hr max: Kp= 2 quiet
...
Geomagnetic Storms:
Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm

Updated at: 2010 Dec 31 2200 UTC

Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
05 %
05 %
MINOR
01 %
01 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %

High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
05 %
05 %
MINOR
01 %
01 %
SEVERE
01 %
01 %

http://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=31&month=12&year=2010

I suppose the question some are wondering, is could a geomagnetic storm impair the birds sense of orientation? Or, and this is a hypothetical where there were a substantial geomagnetic disturbance, could; The birds have been startled, woke up in the night, took flight, and unable to see in the dark, and with an impaired "magnetic eye", crashed into stuff?

But is there any evidence of a significant geomagnetic disturbance occurring on the 31st? It seams the answer is no. Even when there are significant geomagnetic storms, as far as I know, mass bird deaths haven't followed.

Take the storm of April 5, 2010 for example.

GEOMAGNETIC STORM: A sharp gust of solar wind hit Earth's magnetosphere today, April 5th, at approximately 0800 UT and sparked the strongest geomagnetic storm of the year (Kindex=7). Although the storm is subsiding now, it is not over. High-latitude sky watchers should remain alert for auroras. [gallery].

Planetary K-index
Now: Kp= 4 unsettled
24-hr max: Kp= 7 strong
explanation | more data

Geomagnetic Storms:
Probabilities for significant disturbances in Earth's magnetic field are given for three activity levels: active, minor storm, severe storm

Updated at: 2010 Apr 05 2201 UTC

Mid-latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
35 %
35 %
MINOR
20 %
20 %
SEVERE
10 %
05 %

High latitudes
0-24 hr
24-48 hr
ACTIVE
40 %
40 %
MINOR
25 %
30 %
SEVERE
15 %
10 %

http://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=05&month=04&year=2010

Have you heard of any unusual bird deaths occurring during this time? You can compare the geomagnetic K index on december 31 2010 at 0-2 (quiet), to the K index value of up to 7 on april 5, 2010.

It is commonplace for people to go to spaceweather looking to link various world events with solar activity. These people often don't realize that the activity they are looking at is actually normal and relatively uneventful.

So I think we can rest safely in the belief that geomagnetic storms are not causing the birds to die.

 

[rhody]

Thanks Jreelawg...

To everyone else following, in my memory, this is the first time I have seen this level of scrutiny applied worldwide to bird and fish sudden die offs. Have we covered all the bases ?

Rhody...

 

[jsland]

I haven't read all the comments, but my wish would be that a centre could be set up, unrelated to any other body whatsoever and they would take samples from each group death and compare the results. I really think that "this happens all the time" isn't a legitimate answer today, in a world so full of engineered seed, pesticides, chemical spills, and other non-naturally occurring events. I absolutely do not subscribe to conspiracy theories.