England: A16 dead bird mystery

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.louthleader.co.uk/news/A16-dead-bird-mystery.4077934.jp

A16 dead bird mystery

Published Date:
13 May 2008
By Charles Ladbrook
Tuesday 2.15pm - THE mystery of dead birds littering a stretch of the A16 near Louth has baffled drivers.
At least 15 birds were seen by motorists lying dead in the road at 100 metre intervals on Sunday afternoon.
They were on the A16 between Louth and North Thoresby.
One driver told us: "They had been hit by cars but what had caused them to die in the first place?"

 

[Amish Country]

Re: England: A16 dead bird mystery

If all the birds were chickens I saw things like this when I was a child living in farm country. There was a chicken processing plant where this would happen on the roads near by. My bet is one of the chicken crates either was accidentally left open or got a chicken sized hole knocked in it. Chickens on the whole are not noted flyers. If one of them was to launch it's self off a truck going 50 - 60 miles (80-96 kilometers if my conversion is right) per hour, hitting hard macadam on a rough landing, I would not bet on its longevity. Depending on the size of the chickens that might make a crateful or two.

 

[HenryN]

Re: England: A16 dead bird mystery

If all the birds were chickens I saw things like this when I was a child living in farm country. There was a chicken processing plant where this would happen on the roads near by. My bet is one of the chicken crates either was accidentally left open or got a chicken sized hole knocked in it. Chickens on the whole are not noted flyers. If one of them was to launch it's self off a truck going 50 - 60 miles (80-96 kilometers if my conversion is right) per hour, hitting hard macadam on a rough landing, I would not bet on its longevity. Depending on the size of the chickens that might make a crateful or two.

There is nothing in the story to remotely suggest these are chickens,

 

[Amish Country]

Re: England: A16 dead bird mystery

There is nothing in the story to remotely suggest these are chickens,

The type of bird was not specified in the story link provided by Shiloh. Perhaps we will get some clarification on this thread in the future. If they turn out to be chickens or game birds, (some breeds of ducks, grouse, pheasant, quails etc.) I might suspect a shipment to a game farm or processor may come up a little short.

My point is, while this is suspicious and should be checked into by competent authorities, not every dead bird is going to die because of a flu virus. The fact that the birds were located in relative evenly spaced intervals along a traveled road is suspicious to me. Nature is not always that considerate to provide such easy and noticable access to dead birds.

If you see a turtle stuck on a fence post you may not know how it got there but you can figure it had help.

 

[HenryN]

Re: England: A16 dead bird mystery

The type of bird was not specified in the story link provided by Shiloh. Perhaps we will get some clarification on this thread in the future. If they turn out to be chickens or game birds, (some breeds of ducks, grouse, pheasant, quails etc.) I might suspect a shipment to a game farm or processor may come up a little short.

My point is, while this is suspicious and should be checked into by competent authorities, not every dead bird is going to die because of a flu virus. The fact that the birds were located in relative evenly spaced intervals along a traveled road is suspicious to me. Nature is not always that considerate to provide such easy and noticable access to dead birds.

If you see a turtle stuck on a fence post you may not know how it got there but you can figure it had help.

Dead birds on a highway will almost certainly be wild birds.

 

[Amish Country]

Re: England: A16 dead bird mystery

Medical News Today
Article Date: 17 Apr 2006 - 6:00 PDT
16 Dead Birds To Be Tested For Bird Flu, UK

16 birds have been found dead in north Wales, six at Harlech beach, Gwynedd and ten at Criccieth beach. All the dead birds were Guillemots. The Guillemot is not thought of as an importer of bird flu, therefore the bird flu tests are seen as a precaution.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/41745.php

From: Wikipedia
Guillemot is the common name for several species of seabird in the auk family,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillemot

 

[Vibrant62]

Re: England: A16 dead bird mystery

I have counted numerous dead birds in the central reservations of motorways for limted stretches of road (over 3 to 5 mile stretch) at various intervals over the last three years. The birds were all wild and sometimes identifiable, but mostly not - simply because the speed at which i was passing. They looked (mostly) approximately the size of blackbirds and smaller (? finches), and were not pheasants, which seem to suffer a very high natural road kill rate, as to misquote AA Milne, they are birds of little brain.

Highest count in a single stretch I observed was in the region of 120 birds last year on the road to Norfolk via Cambridge (July), These areas, as well as an area near winchester (near marshes) are particular places where I have repeatedly noted this phenomenom in the past, and its absence at other times of year - so it is not a consistent problem, whatever its cause.