Thousands of Migrating Birds Drop Dead Across Southwestern U.S.
Thousands of dead migratory birds in the southwestern United States have scientists baffled, reports Algernon D’Ammassa for the Las Cruces Sun-News. “Unprecedented” numbers of dead birds have turned up in and around New Mexico in the last few weeks, and researchers aren’t yet sure why, Martha Desmond, an ecologist at New Mexico State University (NMSU), tells the Sun-News.
The phenomenon first gained notice when hundreds of dead birds were found at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on August 20 but has since spread across at least five U.S. states and four Mexican states, per the Sun-News.
Speaking with Kevin Johnson of Audubon, Desmond estimates that if dead birds continue to pile up the total could reach six figures. “We haven’t counted all the species yet, but there are lots of species involved,” she adds. Per Audubon, there have been reports of dead owls, warblers, hummingbirds, loons, flycatchers, woodpeckers and other species migrating south to escape the winter cold.
Notably, the region’s resident birds, such as roadrunners or quail, are not among the dead, according to the Sun-News.
Researchers are exploring whether the numerous fires burning along the West Coast might have a hand in the mass die-off, perhaps through smoke inhalation or dangerous route changes to avoid the blazes, reports Simon Romero for the New York Times. Other potential explanations identified by the Times include a sudden bout of cold weather that recently gripped portions of the Rockies and High Plains or a drought in the Southwest that has decimated the insects many migratory birds depend on for food.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/thousands-migrating-birds-drop-dead-across-southwestern-us-180975828/
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