DNR: Certain Factors May Have Caused Bird Deaths
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The head of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resource's non-game wildlife division says a combination of factors may have caused the mysterious deaths of 3,000 birds in Arkansas.
Carrol Henderson said it's important to note that redwing blackbirds aren't used to flying at night.
"Whether it be thunder or fireworks or something that might have flushed that entire wintering colony of blackbirds in the middle of the night, they would have no ability to see well at night," he said. "They're not a nocturnal species."
But Henderson said the subsequent cause of physical trauma to the birds is still a mystery. He said there have been cases in Minnesota where pelicans and geese were knocked out of the sky by hail, but there's no indication that's what happened in Arkansas.
NewsRadio 830 WCCO's John Hines Reports
