Well This Is Odd

I didn't post about it yesterday, but a fairly large number of birds were found dead in Austin, Texas. They closed off part of town to deal with it. The Chicago Tribune reports that the number of birds killed was 63.

AUSTIN, Texas — Police shut down 10 blocks in downtown Austin for several hours Monday after 63 birds were found dead in the street, but officials said preliminary tests found no threat to people.

Workers in yellow hazardous-materials suits tested for contaminants in a cordoned-off section near the state Capitol and the governor's mansion before authorities finally gave the all-clear in the afternoon.

Although officials could not immediately determine whether poison or something else killed the birds, "there's no threat to humans at this point," said Assistant City Manager Michael McDonald.

The dead grackles, sparrows and pigeons will be tested.

Well, it seems that it has been happening in Australia, too, only more so.

THOUSANDS of birds have fallen from the skies over Esperance and no one knows why. Is it an illness, toxins or a natural phenomenon? A string of autopsies in Perth have shed no light on the mystery.

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 last week's freak storm.

On Monday, Esperance, 725km southeast of Perth, was declared a natural disaster zone.

District nature conservation co-ordinator Mike Fitzgerald said 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.

Weird. This happened a while ago in Idaho as well. They think they have a cause, though:

OAKLEY, Idaho (AP) — The investigation into what killed about 25-hundred mallards along a creek in southern Idaho last month has officially concluded the cause to be a fungal infection called aspergillosis.

Dave Parrish of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game says the ducks likely contracted it after eating moldy corn at a nearby farm. Parrish says every lab that examined the dead ducks came up with the same results.

Bad time for birds in several places.