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Birds are dying in the United States and no one knows why
- ArkanExplorer 5y agoCould high levels of CO2 be the cause? CO2 at 800ppm has a huge impact on mouse lungs: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27721892 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27721892 Could lower levels (400s ppm) have an impact on other parts of animals?
- hoppyhoppy2 5y agoThe article says they've been seeing this illness spread since April. If it was caused by rising CO2 levels I'd expect its appearance to be much less sudden.
- jbotz 5y agoUnlikely. Remember that birds are dinosaurs... they spent a significant portion of their evolution at a time when there was a lot more CO2 in the atmosphere. Bird's lungs are much more efficient than mammalian lungs, which is why some birds can fly up to altitudes at which humans would lose consciousness if they weren't in a pressurized airplane cabin! With that and their mobility, birds (at least a few species) are good candidates for surviving the 6th great extinction... given that some are also very intelligent, maybe dinos will get another shot at inheriting the earth after all! ;-)
- Meleagris 5y agoThere's a great documentary called "the messenger" on this topic of declining bird populations https://youtu.be/3xXV95gYHC8 https://youtu.be/3xXV95gYHC8
- aazaa 5y ago> Experts do still have their theories. And one of them links the disease with the arrival of Brood-X cicadas that made their appearance around late April to early May — the same time people started to notice the dead birds. A different article makes the possible connection more clear: > Some people commenting on Facebook and elsewhere speculate that people are spraying chemicals to deal with the current cicada emergence and that may be impacting the birds. There is absolutely no reason to spray cicadas, as the Animal Welfare League of Arlington said on Twitter: https://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/news/birdwatching/terribly-scary-situation-as-birds-die-go-blind-in-d-c-area/ https://www.birdwatchingdaily.com/news/birdwatching/terribly... The tweet says: > DON'T use insecticide on cicadas! Remember that many animals, including birds, bats, dogs, and cats, eat cicadas and can get very sick if they ingest insecticide. Help us keep local animals safe and well - the cicadas won't be here for that long, anyway! https://twitter.com/AWLAArlington/status/1397332919639805955 https://twitter.com/AWLAArlington/status/1397332919639805955 Given that no pathogen has been found, this would seem to be a viable working hypothesis. edit: On the other hand, the birdwatchingdaily article also notes: > In the last 10 days, people in the Washington, D.C., metro area have been reporting increasing numbers of sick, blind, injured, and dead birds. For the most part, they have been juvenile Common Grackles, European Starlings, and Blue Jays. To be consistent with the hypothesis, these birds should be carnivorous. edit: > The common grackle forages on the ground, in shallow water, or in shrubs; it may steal food from other birds. It is omnivorous, eating insects, minnows, frogs, eggs, berries, seeds, grain, and even small birds and mice. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_grackle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_grackle > The common starling is largely insectivorous and feeds on both pest and other arthropods. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_starling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_starling > The blue jay feeds mainly on seeds and nuts, such as acorns, which it may hide to eat later;[2] soft fruits; arthropods; and occasionally small vertebrates. It typically gleans food from trees, shrubs, and the ground, and sometimes hawks insects from the air. Blue jays can be very aggressive to other birds; they sometimes raid nests, and have decapitated other birds https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_jay https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_jay
- Black101 5y agoWhy do they spray for cicadas? they don't like the noise?
- ianhawes 5y agoAside from that the sheer number of cicadas is astonishing.
- adamcstephens 5y agoCicadas can be harmful to trees from the egg laying. I’ve even heard of extreme cases where a young tree doesn’t survive. https://wtop.com/local/2021/06/the-cicadas-might-be-gone-but-the-damage-to-your-trees-isnt-should-you-be-worried/ https://wtop.com/local/2021/06/the-cicadas-might-be-gone-but...
- xook 5y agoCicadas can, in large groups, be damaging to one's hearing[0]. [0] https://wusa9.com/mobile/article/news/local/cicadas-emerging-all-over-where-is-the-noise/65-ae8517a3-da44-4147-8853-9f85dd540d74 https://wusa9.com/mobile/article/news/local/cicadas-emerging...
- eganist 5y agoWhile this is literally true (anecdotally, during the peak of it in early June, I registered 106db standing still in a suburban neighborhood just outside the beltway near a large tree playing host to quite a few of them), I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that it's not the noise that drove people to gas the bugs. More likely in my mind: 1. protecting young trees 2. a perceived need to protect brush/flowers/etc. 3. mitigating the landshrimp "ick" factor (i.e. "it's big, gross, and lands on my shirt for no reason").
- luxurytent 5y agoWhy do I have a sense of déjà vu?
- vichu 5y agoIt hasn't been overnight that birds have been disappearing. For example, this article from the NYT dated 2 years ago: https://archive.ph/zfDAH https://archive.ph/zfDAH
- ancientworldnow 5y agoThat's a general decline in populations. This is a new and very distinctive disease that has been recognized and is spreading rapidly in certain species.
- TheSwordsman 5y agoWe are so fucked
- boc 5y agoJust a reminder that in the 19th Century we killed off billions and billions of passenger pigeons until they went completely extinct. They were the most abundant bird in North America and we literally killed them all. Humans causing massive damage to our environment isn't anything novel unfortunately. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_pigeon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passenger_pigeon
- syops 5y agoSure. It's been done before by humans but now we aren't deliberately killing off these species. We are just existing and through the consequences of our behaviors we are killing them. We are all killing off species at a rate humans never before could.
- lotsofpulp 5y agoI would expect that since the number of humans exist at many multiples of what they used to before. Plus technological advances allowing humans to exert more influence over the environment.
- syops 5y agoSure, but let’s add to the fact that as a species we have pretty much collectively decided that the other animals, plants, insects don’t matter. We’ve also collectively decided to defecate all over the environment and dump chemicals everywhere. As a species we really suck.
- rcMgD2BwE72F 5y ago> We are just existing You may be just existing but some very powerful politicians and businessmen are spreading lies and hiding the truth so we can continue to just exist and never realize that the systems which determine how we exist (eat, move, live, consume...) are destroying our habitat/climate for the benefit of a few. There are many ways to exist, and our current ways are very deliberate with regards to their impact on life (eg neonicotinoids).
- tidydata 5y ago> "West Nile [disease] is ruled out. . . Everything has been ruled out. To date, we still do not know," says Monsma, citing tests conducted by Wildlife's clinic director, Cheryl Chooljian. I’m no expert in this, but I’m going to guess that destroying their habitats may be to blame.
- oxymoran 5y agoI mean we are but what does that have to do with swollen eyes and neurological impairment?
- tidydata 5y agoIt would seem quite obvious that mass destruction of habitat may cause neurological impairment, mass deaths, etc.
- da39a3ee 5y agoDefinitely agree that the habitat destruction we have inflicted upon the animals we share the planet with is sad. The article is about a specific disease though that birds in the eastern US have started suffering from this spring/summer.
- ArcturianDeath 5y agoOh, do they share it with us?! What about the invasive species like the roach, and all parasites? Do some of them consciously make it a point to not be how they are so they infest and infect us less?
- tidydata 5y agoThese things are not unrelated.
- dvdhnt 5y agoIt really doesn't take an expert to recognize the cause on a macro-level - destroying their habitats, an infinite number of chemicals making their way through the food chain, air pollution, climate change, fewer insects. If anything, this seems like a predictable outcome.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- mjcohen 5y agoLet's hope this doesn't jump to us.
- aaron695 5y agoThere's a dead bird blog somewhere that follows the 'dead bird' hysteria/stories in multiple countries. Here's one from 100 years ago - https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/44162565 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/44162565 They just thought it was cool. Remember the 'Serial Killer Stalks N.Y. Pigeons', he was in the 90's then re-emerged in the 2000's. (Netflix special spoiler, he didn't exist)
- stevespang 5y agoBirds eat lot's of insects. Neonicotinoids are a particularly hideous class of insecticides that are wiping out bees. Neonicotinoids are already banned in Europe, but big corporate Ag has bought off all the US politicians to not ban Neonicotinoids. Neonicotinoids accumulate or "magnify" in the tissues of birds. Do a Google search for biomagnification.
- JonathonW 5y agoSince there seems to be some confusion on the topic here, this article isn't talking about a long-term nationwide decline in bird populations. This is an acute illness (of unknown origin, so far) impacting mostly juvenile birds that started being reported in certain regions of the US (not nationwide) back in late May/early June. There are good odds that this is either some kind of novel contagious disease (most of the likely culprits have been ruled out), or something to do with their food supply (the affected regions have a suspicious overlap with regions where Brood X cicadas emerged, but there's no conclusive link known so far). The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources has a good synopsis of the situation, as well as suggested actions for those in impacted areas (mostly, bring in bird feeders and regularly sanitize bird baths if you leave them filled): https://fw.ky.gov/News/Pages/Kentucky-Fish-and-Wildlife-provides-update-about-bird-illness-investigation.aspx https://fw.ky.gov/News/Pages/Kentucky-Fish-and-Wildlife-prov...
- dls2016 5y agoI live on 1 acre against a small wooded area in central PA. Very rarely see dead birds. The other day I saw a dead bird and a very confused bird next to it in my garden, young robins I think. I thought perhaps they were attacked until I read about this phenomenon.
- Covzire 5y agoWhen I was a kid I saw what looked like a black bird (Icteridae) kill a robin right in front my eyes. They were flying around each other in close proximity very fast and eventually the black bird must have bumped into the robin with it's beak and the robin dropped dead. I went to pick it up and took it home to show my parents. I've wondered how common that is, haven't seen it since.
- ctrlp 5y agoRecently saw a pack of crows attack and kill one of a mockingbird pair. The mate tried to save it but was unsuccessful. The crow flew off with it in its beak and the rest of the crows joined it and tore the mockingbird to pieces. I see now why a group of crows is called "a murder of crows".
- giardini 5y agoMaybe a result of "insect catastrophic" dieoff: https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=insects%20catastrophic&sort=byDate&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...
- myth_drannon 5y agoI never understood the insect thing. Every house in our neighbourhood has at least one bird feeder. The birds are lazy and just chill all day around and eat all kinds of seeds, oats and nuts provided by humans. From time to time they bother with worms after the rain. None are ever hungry for sure.
- throwamon 5y agoI'm trying to find a more charitable interpretation to your comment, but are you implying that insects are nothing but easily replaceable human-neighborhood bird food?
- Wowfunhappy 5y agoI think the GP is saying, the birds have plenty of food, what do they need insects for? (I agree this is probably over-simplified.)
- benglish11 5y agoMany birds solely/mostly feed their young insects even if the adults prefer seeds. Even lowly sparrows will eat insects to feed their young. This is one of the reasons Mao’s four pests campaign to kill all the sparrows was such a huge failure.
- mickhead23 5y ago“residents are attaching bird skeletons to feeders to ward off birds”. That’s incredibly bizarre. Why not just take them down as advised?
- Eric_WVGG 5y agoIs that what that utterly bananas leading photo supposed to be??
- nickjj 5y agoI walk around my neighborhood every day (about 7 continuous years of at least 3 miles a day for context). This is in NY. Over the last 3 months or so I've seen quite a few more than usual dead birds, most of which had really nasty looking eyes. It's not like something out of a horror movie where the streets are littered with them but instead of the 1-2 I might see in a couple month stretch, this has been more like 6-7 with similar eye issues for the ones that were "fresh" enough to see the details. Most were on the sidewalk or on someone's lawn. I've seen 2 in the gutters of houses which seems strange, like they died on the roof of a house and trickled down. I only know this because it happened to people I tend to walk past and they were outside on a ladder addressing it. They were all grackles and blue jays. There's a fairly equal amount of grackles, blue jays, robins, sparrows and crows here. I also saw a pretty big crow fly directly into someone's window but it wasn't a usual case where it was a huge window where it might think it's open space. This was a pretty small window near a right angle of the entrance to their house. I've never seen a bird fly into a spot like that before. It flew off so I have no idea what happened to it.
- staticassertion 5y agoAre people supposed to call animal control in situations like this? Like, if I find a dead animal in general, is there someone who gets paid to know about that?
- msrenee 5y agoYour local audobon society chapter can probably get it to the correct people. You can also try a local university. They usually have an extention office for this sort of thing. Animal control is worth trying as well.
- nradov 5y agoIt depends where you are. For example in Santa Clara County, CA the local Vector Control asks people to report all dead birds so that they can test for West Nile Virus. https://vector.sccgov.org/resources/diseases-and-surveillance/west-nile-virus https://vector.sccgov.org/resources/diseases-and-surveillanc...
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- jquast 5y agoYet another HN anecdote—I found a sick baby bird a few weeks ago with swollen eyes in northern Michigan, feather loss on its head, a mother bird circling and crying about it. it soon died and I buried it and also put away the bird bath and feeder, I suggest everyone do the same, another article[1] suggested a possible bacteria infection. Baths and feeders are super-spreader locations to these birds. 1. https://www.wlwt.com/article/birds-are-suddenly-dying-whats-causing-mystery-illness-in-ohio-kentucky-indiana/36861015 https://www.wlwt.com/article/birds-are-suddenly-dying-whats-...
- gerdesj 5y agoVery sad. The feather loss on the head might imply sibling rivalry in the nest. Nature really is rather red in tooth and claw. Birds just like us need water and food. Moving water is best but regularly changed static water is fine but make sure it is changed. Likewise food put out needs to be monitored.
- Aboh33 5y agoHopefully not some deadly ubeakquitous beakteria
- kgc 5y agoIt's likely we used pesticides to kill their food source.
- stubish 5y agoPer the article, it appears to be contagious and spreading, and an increasing number of species are being infected. It's more likely a contagious disease or infection.
- ArcturianDeath 5y agoI was using PF Harris Famous Roach Tablets in someones yard on Pinemtel, thats fuckin why!
- v0x 5y agohttps://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&query=%22and%20no%20one%20knows%20why%22&sort=byPopularity&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...
- 29athrowaway 5y ago1. Birds eat insects 2. Insects are dying. Therefore, birds are dying. QED □ It can also be due to artificial disruption of their timing such as migrations, breeding, etc.
- srsamarthyam 5y agochina knows
- ArcturianDeath 5y agoIts not pesticides, because some of you people have never worked with pesticides. Pesticides are very low persistence, in general, and definitely less so compared to PFAS or plastics. A trend in current history of multi-state die-offs points to an avian infection.