MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

By Akshya Rout, Jajpur -“The death of many crows triggered panic among residents in Jajpur Road on Thursday who have been advised by forest and veterinary officials not to touch the carcasses.

‘Around 250 crows died in Jajpur Road on Thursday . People of the affected areas were instructed not to handle the dead crows without gloves. They were also instructed to bury the dead crows by digging deep holes so that the disease cannot not spread to more areas’, said Dr K. Mohanty the Chief District Veterinary Officer (CDVO) of Jajpur on Thursday.

‘The panic is caused by the simple fact that crows tend to hover around human settlements and stay in close contact with humans and recently many crows died of the deadly disease bird flu or H5N1 virus in Jharakhanda areas bordering Odisha’, added Dr Mohanty.

Keeping in view the arrival of migratory birds in this winter , the veterinary department is ascertaining the sudden rise in the death of crows in Jajpur Road. , added Mohanty. A two member team of Animal Disease Research Laboratory (ADRL) collected samples of ten dead crows in Jajpur Road on Thursday which will be sent to the Bhopal’s Indian Veterinary Research Institute to ascertain the cause of the crows’ large-scale death , said Mohanty.” Read more.

Update: They’ve all just ‘disappeared‘ …

By Ralf Lofstad – (via Google Translate) – “(Dagbladet): The inhabitants of resin in Troms could hardly believe his eyes on the morning of New Year’s Eve, the beach was a large amount, an estimated tens of tons, dead herring, writes Northern Lights .

Various theories

No one knows for sure what’s happened in the popular hiking area in Nordreisa municipality. However, various theories have been tossed around, explains Jan-Petter Jorgensen (44), who took mass death in sight on the beach with his dog Molly.

– People say that something similar happened in the 80s, and there is speculation among others on the river which flows into the ocean behind a promontory on the site, may have had something to say. Maybe the fish have been caught in the long due, and then died of fresh water? Jorgensen says to Dagbladet.

He estimates each individual fish to be of 100-150 grams, and that the total might be about up to 20 tons. Now he’s worried about what might happen if no one comes and removing carcasses.

– When we talk about an environmental problem, the fish are in full resolution.” Read more.

Associated Press – “BEEBE, Ark – Blackbirds have fallen dead from the sky in a central Arkansas town for the second New Year’s Eve in a row.

KATV showed a radar image that it said showed a large mass over Beebe a few hours before midnight Saturday. The Little Rock television station reported that hundreds of birds had died.

Beebe animal control worker Hearst Taylor told KATV the reason for the bird deaths isn’t yet known.

Last year, fireworks were blamed for the deaths of thousands of birds. It wasn’t immediately clear if year-end celebrations are again to blame.

Beebe police imposed an impromptu fireworks ban Saturday night.

Biologists said last year’s kill was caused by the birds being rousted from their roosts and flying into homes, cars, telephone poles and each other.” Source – Fox News.

Flashback: 5000 Blackbirds Fall From Sky in Beebe, Arkansas – “Times Square had the ball drop, and Brasstown, N.C., had its descending possum. But no place had a New Year’s Eve as unusual, or freakishly disturbing, as Beebe, Ark. Around 11 that night, thousands of red-winged blackbirds began falling out of the sky over this small city about 35 miles northeast of Little Rock. They landed on roofs, roads, front lawns and backyards, turning the ground nearly black and terrifying anyone who happened to be outside. ‘One of them almost hit my best friend in the head,’ said Christy Stephens, who was standing outside among the smoking crowd at a party. ‘We went inside after that.'” Read more.

“Five days after it was first reported, fish continued to die in a pond at Kerala village near Bavla in Ahmedabad district on Monday.

‘Everyday, fish in huge quantites are dying. The water has turned black and we still do not have any clue as to what has happened to the pond,’ Kerala sarpanch Subhash Thakar told The Indian Express.

The sarpanch said that more than four tonnes of fish have died mysteriously since last Wednesday. ‘As instructed by the health officials, we have buried the dead fish by using earth movers and tractors. We are also cleaning the pond,’ Thakor added.

C A Shah, Gandhinagar regional officer of the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), said they were waiting for the results of the sample testing of water from the pond. ‘We have listed the samples as urgent. Normally, it takes four to five days for the results,’ Shah said.

V M Rupani, assistant director at Ahmedabad district fisheries department, confirmed that water body has turned black. ‘I suspect, effluent released by nearby industrial units is responsible for the phenomenon,’ he said.

There is a bearing manufacturing unit and a rice mill near the pond, which is spread over five acres.” Source – IndianExpress.com.

“Corfu-based environmental group Archipelagos on Tuesday published a report warning of a large number of dead marine mammals and fish washed up on the coasts of the islands of the Ionian, Kathimerini has learned, following the alarming finding earlier this month of at least 10 dead whales on the coast of Corfu.

The report cited additional findings of dead sea turtles, hundreds of fish, more washed-up carcasses of large marine mammals such as the beaked whales and the disappearance of one Mediterranean monk seal from the Corfu coast, while also quoting fishermen who have noted a significant drop in fish populations throughout the western Greece coastal zone, from the western coast of Messinia in the south to the northern Ionian.

Samples taken by scientists working for Archipelagos from the dead beaked whales are being examined to determined what killed them, including high levels of toxicity and heavy metals, or disease.

‘This is without doubt a very painful event, which is taking place in the closed sea of the Mediterranean and which is of great concern to us and should alarm the scientific community and the authorities, given that the cause of death may be related — either directly or indirectly — to human activity,’ the group said in its report.” Read more.

AP – “CLEARFIELD — Officials have spent the last few days cleaning up after a number of European starlings were found dead near a Davis County park.

It is estimated that close to 400 birds have been found in the area of Kiwanis Park, near 300 North and Vine Street, since Saturday, according to J.J. Allen, assistant Clearfield city manager. That said no one knows who made the decision to place pellets, which are clearly visible, in the area.

‘We had been told by the state Division of Wildlife Resources that the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services Division had raided European starlings, but now DWR is retracting the statement,’ Allen said. ‘Nobody is taking responsibility.’

A large number of birds were also found dead near 1000 West and 1800 North in Clinton, said Clint Thacker, director of Animal Care and Control for Davis County. The cause of that incident was equally mysterious.

Mike Linnell of the U.S. Department of Agriculture said his organization was not responsible for the deaths. He explained that European starlings are an invasive species that are not protected and could be shot on sight.

Area resident John Egbert said he’s lived near Kiwanis Park since 1970 and had never seen such a large number of birds. He said they take up camp in 15 or so large pine trees in the park and look like “a big gob” that entirely cover the trees.

‘I have never seen the birds in the fall that come together — it’s not a flock, they’re like swarms,’ he said. ‘We’re talking thousands and thousands of birds. They come in and it looks like a cloud.’

But Allen said that, for now, whatever is killing the birds remains a mystery.” Read more.

By Ashley Meeks – “LAS CRUCES – The Mesilla Valley Audubon Society counts birds every year – but it usually focuses on birds of the living variety.

This year, during the 36th annual Christmas Bird Count, participants found something quite different: piles of dead crows, possibly hundreds of them, at the Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park, says participant Ken Stinnett, who’s been doing bird counts since 1969.

‘I discovered, in the river and along the west side of the river quite a few dead birds,’ he said Tuesday. ‘Ninety-nine percent of them, of course, were American crows. I saw one Chihuahuan raven and later I saw one Brewer’s blackbird had been affected.’

As part of the survey, participants are assigned to various portions of a 15-mile circle that includes the river, La Cueva near the Organ Mountains, parts of U.S. 70 in the north and portions of the South Valley.

While some of the birds were found dead at the water’s edge, others, ‘it was obvious they died when they were perched in the trees, and just fell over dead,’ said Stinnett. The only bodies of water that appeared to be affected were between the Mesilla Dam and the Santo Tomas Bridge, downstream from Las Cruces, Stinnett said.

‘There were other areas of water that had ducks, geese, sandpipers and killdeer that were not affected,’ Stinnett said. ‘There were crows drinking water there and flying off like crows do.’

Park rangers were notified and officials from the USDA picked up the carcasses to perform necropsies, said Stinnett, who said the sight was quite disconcerting.” Read more.

By ELLIE TURNER – “RAW sewage was the first suspect in the hunt for the killer.

But authorities say a sea of dead fish that yesterday scared hook-wielding locals at Buffalo Creek was probably the result of too much rain.

The NT News was alerted to the demise of hundreds of small water dwellers like salmon, white bait and mullet.

Nightcliff resident Peter Clipsy said he was leaving a nearby inlet when he saw the pontoon of death.

‘There are masses,’ he said.

‘The place is usually busy with fishermen – today there was nobody.’

But NT Amateur Fishermen’s Association chief Chris Makepeace said the ‘fish kill’ often came with the first big rains of the Wet when fresh water flushed out oxygen.

‘In billabongs there can be thousands of dead fish – big ones like barra.

‘Here is sounds like just the smaller fish were affected.

‘The storms are stirring up the water – there’s heaps of rain coming off banks and depending what’s happening in creek it can reduce the oxygen level.’

He said it looked bad but was only nature’s wicked way.

‘Some people say it’s the sewage that gets pumped in there but I don’t think we can blame it this time.

‘It’s a fish’s life.'” Source – NT News.