kenny
01-13-2007, 09:55 PM
Day the birds fell dead
Jim Kelly
January 13, 2007 02:00pm
ISOLATED WA holiday town Esperance is the focus of world attention since birds began falling from the sky and dying.
The baffling phenomenon, which has wiped out about 4000 birds since it was first reported a month ago, has made news around the world.
The story has featured internationally on television and in newspapers.
US health officials in Texas are paying particular attention after experiencing a similar baffling outbreak of bird deaths.
The unexplained deaths sparked a major health scare after initial suspicions of a possible terrorist attack.
In Esperance, 730km southeast of Perth, populations of honeyeaters, wattle birds and miners have been hit.
Bush on the western fringe of the coastal tourist town, which only weeks ago was ringing with a chorus of birds, is now eerily silent.
Department of Environment and Conservation district nature conservation co-ordinator Mike Fitzgerald said scientists were getting closer to explaining why native birds were dying.
Toxic poisoning had emerged as the most likely cause of the deaths, he said.
An autopsy being carried out by Department of Agriculture toxicologists on one of the latest casualties will test for organochlorins, organophosphates and heavy metals.
"We are looking at something that is pretty potent,'' he said.
"This is not a normal situation.
"The common thing that we have seen and heard is that the affected birds have an insatiable thirst.
"In some cases, the birds have fitted and then appeared to be OK and then fitted again and died.
"We are hoping the next tests will at least point us in the right direction.
"At the very least, it is hoped it will eliminate some of the possible causes.
"If it turns out to be a toxin that is responsible, that will raise more questions because there is no obvious source of exposure.
"It really is a puzzle.''
Initially, health authorities feared a virus, possibly similar to deadly bird flu, was responsible.
That was quickly ruled out, along with poisoning from bacteria or eating poisoned insects.
The first deaths were reported by Esperance resident Michelle Crisp, whose property is close to bush in the worst- affected area.
Dozens of native birds began dying in her back yard a week before Christmas.
She began ringing around neighbours and was shocked to find they were experiencing the same thing.
Mrs Crisp found four dead birds, then 16, then 30 and finally up to 80.
The water in her birdbath, which used to be changed three times a day, is now almost stagnant.
"Normally, there would have a couple of hundred birds in the garden, but now there is nothing,'' she said.
"There is just silence. It is devastating.''
In WA, authorities expect to have results of the latest tests in seven days.
Esperance residents, meanwhile, are waiting for answers and for birds to return.
http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,5358802,00.jpg EMPTY NEST: "Normally, there would have a couple of hundred birds in the garden, but now there is nothing,'' Esperance resident Michelle Crisp says.
ken
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Jim Kelly
January 13, 2007 02:00pm
ISOLATED WA holiday town Esperance is the focus of world attention since birds began falling from the sky and dying.
The baffling phenomenon, which has wiped out about 4000 birds since it was first reported a month ago, has made news around the world.
The story has featured internationally on television and in newspapers.
US health officials in Texas are paying particular attention after experiencing a similar baffling outbreak of bird deaths.
The unexplained deaths sparked a major health scare after initial suspicions of a possible terrorist attack.
In Esperance, 730km southeast of Perth, populations of honeyeaters, wattle birds and miners have been hit.
Bush on the western fringe of the coastal tourist town, which only weeks ago was ringing with a chorus of birds, is now eerily silent.
Department of Environment and Conservation district nature conservation co-ordinator Mike Fitzgerald said scientists were getting closer to explaining why native birds were dying.
Toxic poisoning had emerged as the most likely cause of the deaths, he said.
An autopsy being carried out by Department of Agriculture toxicologists on one of the latest casualties will test for organochlorins, organophosphates and heavy metals.
"We are looking at something that is pretty potent,'' he said.
"This is not a normal situation.
"The common thing that we have seen and heard is that the affected birds have an insatiable thirst.
"In some cases, the birds have fitted and then appeared to be OK and then fitted again and died.
"We are hoping the next tests will at least point us in the right direction.
"At the very least, it is hoped it will eliminate some of the possible causes.
"If it turns out to be a toxin that is responsible, that will raise more questions because there is no obvious source of exposure.
"It really is a puzzle.''
Initially, health authorities feared a virus, possibly similar to deadly bird flu, was responsible.
That was quickly ruled out, along with poisoning from bacteria or eating poisoned insects.
The first deaths were reported by Esperance resident Michelle Crisp, whose property is close to bush in the worst- affected area.
Dozens of native birds began dying in her back yard a week before Christmas.
She began ringing around neighbours and was shocked to find they were experiencing the same thing.
Mrs Crisp found four dead birds, then 16, then 30 and finally up to 80.
The water in her birdbath, which used to be changed three times a day, is now almost stagnant.
"Normally, there would have a couple of hundred birds in the garden, but now there is nothing,'' she said.
"There is just silence. It is devastating.''
In WA, authorities expect to have results of the latest tests in seven days.
Esperance residents, meanwhile, are waiting for answers and for birds to return.
http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,5358802,00.jpg EMPTY NEST: "Normally, there would have a couple of hundred birds in the garden, but now there is nothing,'' Esperance resident Michelle Crisp says.
ken
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