Arkansas Bird Deaths May Be From “Fireworks Stress”
Jan 3, 2011 4 Comments ›› Pat Dollard
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) – Stress from New Year’s Eve fireworks may have caused the deaths of up to 5,000 birds in Beebe, Ark., which mysteriously began falling from the sky late Friday night, state officials said on Monday.
Officials believe that stress may be a more likely cause than severe weather such as hail or a lightning strike because the severe weather had already left the area.
“We’re leaning more toward a stress event,” said Arkansas Game and Fish Commission spokesman Keith Stephens. He said fireworks could have caused the mostly blackbirds to fly into houses or have heart attacks. Test results are expected on Monday or later this week.
The commission also is trying to determine what caused the deaths of up to 100,000 fish over a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River near a dam in Ozark, 125 miles west of Beebe. The fish were discovered December 30.
Stephens said the commission expects results on the fish tests in probably a month. Disease may be the culprit, since all the fish were one species — bottom-feeding drum, Stephens said.
Stephens said the events do not appear related. Both that section of the river and the air at the site of the bird deaths were tested for toxins, Stephens said. Beebe is a town of about 4,500 people located 30 miles northeast of the state capital.
