Poison suspected of causing Esperance bird deaths

[yielddude]

Last Update: Wednesday, January 3, 2007. 10:20am (AEDT)
Poison suspected of causing Esperance bird deaths
The Western Australian Department of Environment believes a toxic substance is responsible for the deaths of more than 100 birds of different species in the Esperance area of WA's south-east.

The department's Mike Fitzgerald has confirmed it is investigating the possibility of a chemical spill or industrial activity which may have caused the bird deaths.

He says it could also be a naturally occurring poison.

Residents initially alerted the department to a large number of dead birds around the Demster Head area near the port, but now more dead birds have been found in other areas.

Mr Fitzgerald says birds have been sent to Perth for autopsies.

"There doesn't seem to be any change in the organs which sort of rules out a long-term infection and that leaves the door open to for some sort of toxin that may have been ingested by the birds," he said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200701/s1820773.htm

[yielddude]

Re: Poison suspected of causing Esperance bird deaths

This from 12/28/06, probably not BF, but just posting to follow through (btw, was there ever a final clnclusion to the Havelock dead birds in NZ?)

Birds falling from the sky
Sarah Quinton


MORE than 60 birds have mysteriously died in Esperance in the past three weeks, some literally falling out of the sky, causing concern to residents and leaving an eerie absence of the feathered creatures in some backyards.

Dempster Head resident Michelle Crisp came across a few dead birds in her backyard and on further investigation gathered 30 more birds around her house and surrounding area.


"A couple of them were convulsing on the ground and vomiting, it was really quite distressing for us, because we used to have a lot of birds in our backyard and now there are none," she said.


Neighbours Terry and Wendy Neville had also experienced a number of birds dying in their backyard.


"There's quite a noticeable difference now, I used to put the sprinklers on and there would heaps of birds, now we don't even get one," Terry said.


Department of Environment nature conservation coordinator Mike Fitzgerald has described the affected area as being 38 hectares of land from the southern end of Dempster Street near the caravan park and the entrance of Harbour Road up to Philip and Orr Streets.


"At the present time we have no idea what has caused the deaths, if it is industrial or biological," he said.


"We are sending birds for autopsy, but they must be recently dead and we have found that their stomachs are empty because they have regurgitated whatever they have eaten, meaning we can't get a proper sample."


A specimen was sent to pathologist Dr Cleve Main at the Department of Food and Agriculture to determine the cause of the birds' death but no result has been received as yet.


The birds being effected are the yellow-throated miners, new horned honeyeaters and wattle birds as well as some seagulls that were found at Port Authority park.


Mr Fitzgerald said all birds were insect or nectar eaters, except the seagulls which tend to eat a different diet, usually carnivorous.


"We believe it could be water or insect related, but we don't know until we get the results back from the pathologist."


Mr Fitzgerald is asking for anyone with information regarding the birds' deaths - including chemical spills, any unusual insects or insect behaviour - to contact the Department of Environment and Conservation.

http://esperance.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=general&story_id=543253&category=general&m=12&y=2006

[yielddude]

Re: Poison suspected of causing Esperance bird deaths

Mystery as thousands of dead birds fall from sky
By Amanda O'Brien
January 10, 2007 01:00am

(yield -still doesn't sound like BF, but p[osting nonetheless as death count rose dramatically)

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.

"It's very substantial. We estimate several thousand birds are dead, although we don't have a clear number because of the large areas of bushland," Mr Fitzgerald said.

Birds Australia, the nation's main bird conservation group, said it had not heard of a similar occurrence. "Not on that scale, and all at the same time, and also the fact that it's several different species," chief executive Graeme Hamilton said. "You'd have to call that a most unusual event and one that we'd all have to be concerned about."

He expected birds would return to the area once the problem - natural or man-made phenomenon - was fixed but said it was vital the cause was identified.

The Department of Agriculture and Food, which conducted the autopsies, has almost ruled out an infectious process.

Acting chief veterinary officer Fiona Sunderman said toxins were the most likely cause but the deaths could be due to anything from toxic algae to chemicals and pesticides.

Dr Sunderman said there were no leads yet on which of potentially hundreds of toxins might be responsible. Some birds were seen convulsing as they died.

Michelle Crisp was one of the first to contact the DEC after finding dozens of dead birds on her property one morning.

She told The Australian she normally had hundreds of birds in her yard, but that she and a neighbour counted 80 dead birds in one day.

"It went to the point where we had nothing, not a bird," she said.

"It was like a moonscape, just horrible. But the frightening thing for us, we didn't find any more birds after that. We literally didn't have any birds left to die."

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21035741-2,00.html#

[e_armigeri]

Re: Poison suspected of causing Esperance bird deaths

"We literally didn't have any birds left to die."
how's that's for a poison dose response curve.
e_

[MHSC]

Re: Poison suspected of causing Esperance bird deaths

This story covers Australia and Texas






Tuesday, January 9, 2007

<hr size="1"> <!-- writer and photo option --> <hr noshade="noshade" size="1"> <!-- end option --> ANIMAL KINGDOM
'Catastrophic': Now thousands of birds fall from sky
Wildlife officers baffled, autopsies shed no light on mystery
<hr size="1"> Posted: January 9, 2007
9:07 p.m. Eastern

<!-- end deck -->
<hr size="1"> <!--
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Thousands of birds inexplicably dropped like rocks from the sky over Australia.
<table align="center"> <tbody><tr> <td width="500">
Thousands of wattle birds like this one have mysteriously dropped dead in Australia</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
The mysterious catastrophe has taken place over a period of three weeks in Esperance, about 450 miles southeast of Perth. The area was declared a disaster zone by government officials.
So far, authorities are clueless as to the cause. Autopsies on the birds have shed no light.
The main casualties, according to Australian news sources, are wattle birds, yellow-throated miners, new holland honeyeaters and singing honeyeaters. Some dead crows, hawks and pigeons have also been found.
Some birds were seen convulsing when they died.
Wildlife officers are baffled by what they characterize as a "catastrophic" event. It does not appear to be weather-related.
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District nature conservation coordinator Mike Fitzgerald said: "It's very substantial. We estimate several thousand birds are dead, although we don't have a clear number because of the large areas of bushland."
Birds Australia, the nation's main bird conservation group, said it had not heard of a similar occurrence. "Not on that scale, and all at the same time, and also the fact that it's several different species," chief executive Graeme Hamilton said. "You'd have to call that a most unusual event and one that we'd all have to be concerned about."
Just yesterday, some 60 birds fell out of the sky in Austin, Texas, without explanation.
The incident prompted street closings for several hours.
Officials said they had tested the air for dangerous substances but found nothing, and they declared the area safe.
The dead birds ? grackles, sparrows and pigeons ? were being checked for avian flu, but officials said they saw no symptoms of the illness and believed it more likely they had been poisoned, possibly deliberately, or affected by near-freezing weather.


http://www.wnd.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53708

[Theresa42]

Re: Poison suspected of causing Esperance bird deaths

Poor birds.

[Niko]

Re: Poison suspected of causing Esperance bird deaths

Dead wattle bird may hold key to mystery deaths

By Amanda O'Brien
January 11, 2007 02:00am

<!-- END Story Toolbar --> <!-- Lead Content Panel --> A TINY dead wattle bird being rushed to Perth this morning could hold the key to the mystery deaths of thousands of birds that dropped from the sky in the holiday town of Esperance.
As West Australian officials yesterday tried to hose down public health concerns - despite not knowing the cause of the deaths - the sick and convulsing wattle bird was put down by an Esperance vetinerary surgeon.

Its gut and organs were preserved to stop decomposition and increase the chances of finding answers when it is flown to Perth today for what will be the sixth bird autopsy in a fortnight.

The other autopsies failed to explain the deaths, which started three weeks ago, emptying the skies over Esperance of up to 5000 wattle birds, yellow-throated miners, new holland honeyeaters and singing honeyeaters.

Acting state chief veterinary officer Fiona Sunderman said having the latest bird - found in a park by local resident Michelle Crisp - handed in alive should help in the bid to unlock the mystery.

The attitude of West Australian officials is in stark contrast to their counterparts in Texas, who declared a major emergency this week when 63 dead birds were found in an Austin street.

Austin police shut 10 city blocks as workers in hazardous-materials suits tested for contaminants that may have killed grackles, sparrows and pigeons.

Experts believe the most likely cause of the Texas die-off is a deliberate poisoning as the crow-like grackles are regarded as a pest, covering the sidewalk in droppings.

As Texas officials insisted there was no threat to humans, West Australian Health Department director of environmental health, Jim Dodds, said there was nothing to indicate any risk to human health in Esperance.

"We're not aware of any concerns out of the bird deaths," Dr Dodds said.

"Our advice stands ... that people should collect the birds using a plastic bag as a glove and deliver the bird to the Department of Environment and Conservation office."

The uncertainty has wildlife experts worried, with Dave Pettet from WA Raptor Rehabilitation and Education concerned that birds of prey such as eagles and kytes could be at risk if they pick up the dead or dying birds.

"If there's a poison going through, it will be a secondary possibility that the raptors will start coming into it fairly soon," he said. "I'm concerned that somebody is doing it on purpose and we need to get to the bottom of it."

Officials admit that they have hit a wall in investigating the phenomenon.



http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117...om=public_rss#

[runninghorses]

Re: Poison suspected of causing Esperance bird deaths

Dead birds found in second WA town

from ABC News Online
Wednesday, January 17, 2007. 7:00pm (AEDT)

Western Australia's Department of Environment and Conservation says there is no evidence to suggest the mysterious deaths of thousands of birds in two towns in the state's south are connected.
The department is still trying to determine what caused the deaths of up to 4,000 birds in Esperance on the south coast over the past five weeks.
There are now reports that 200 dead swallows have been found in the Wheatbelt town of Narembeen.
Paul Connolly from the department's Nature Protection Branch says it is unlikely the deaths are linked, although nothing can be ruled out.
"The Esperance bird deaths involed a wide range of species, whereas Narembeen was a single species," he said.
"The swallows are insectivores, whereas most of the species affected in the Esperance area were nectarivores, so quite different types of birds involved."
Autopsies on the Esperance birds have ruled out viral and bacterial causes.
Investigations are continuing into whether pesticides or toxins may be to blame.
The department has been unable to find a suitable sample for testing from the Narembeen birds but it will continue to monitor the situation.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems...1/s1828751.htm


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