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I am not a researcher, but https://www.audubon.org/news/how-wildfires-affect-birds https://www.audubon.org/news/how-wildfires-affect-birds would seem to be a re
by btilly 6y ago
I am not a researcher, but https://www.audubon.org/news/how-wildfires-affect-birds https://www.audubon.org/news/how-wildfires-affect-birds would seem to be a reputable source. It was written in 2017, but is relevant to the current situation.
Multiple passages in it are relevant to this issue. Birds do try to fly away from fire. We have evidence that smoke inhalation is worse for birds than mammals (which would mean that birds would need to flee smoke, and not just the flames). And the possibility of birds dying of exhaustion from trying to fly away was already a concern to wildlife conservationists.
None of which is proof. But it is all suggestive that I'm making a reasonable guess as to why they are dying.
- throwaway5752 6y agoNot a researcher in this area, either. And no need to be, we are probably able to evaluate research. Great article. I will say that some sources (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/15/us/dead-birds-new-mexico-colorado.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/15/us/dead-birds-new-mexico-...) indicate that migratory bird die off observations started in mid-Aug, which would not jibe with the fire timelines (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Complex_fire#Timeline https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Complex_fire#Timeline). Also, the linked article submission talks about New Mexico, Texas, and even Nebraska which are hundreds of miles from the fires and generally outside of areas of NWS smoke forecast concern (https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=2ff1677111ae4018ac705fcce7c3312f https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=2ff16...)