Just as the year's odometer ticked over in Arkansas, a huge flock of between 4,000 and 5,000 blackbirds fell from the sky, stone dead. About 125 miles away, scores of dead drum fish wash ashore in the Arkansas River.
End of days? Or just a coincidence?
Although many theories have been proposed, the most likely cause of the death of the blackbirds is a high-altitude weather event, like heavy hail. All of the dead birds showed large amounts of massive trauma to their internal organs, of the sort that could easily be explained by a sudden and severe high altitude hail storm.
Blackbirds as a species tend to form extremely large flocks, which migrate at high altitudes. Many songbirds migrate at night, taking advantage of a time when predators are likely to be asleep. These migrating birds take flight invisibly in huge flocks, and they fly high, in order to avoid night-roaming owls.
There is also a classic selection bias happening here. Put simply, the baffled residents of Beebe, Arkansas are only seeing the killed birds. It's entirely possible that this was a flock two or three times that size, and that most of the flock was able to fly away unharmed.
Lightning at high altitudes is also a common cause of this kind of sudden bird kill. Lightning can flicker across the clouds even when no storm is nearby, and one burst of lightning can easily take out a flock of birds. However, at this time the indications are running against lightning as a possible cause.
The sudden death of scores of drum fish no doubt has a similarly prosaic cause. Drum fish are a bottom-feeding fish which are also called "croakers," due to their ability to make a drumming noise with their swim bladder.
The fact that the fish kill is limited to only one species tends to rule out some sort of toxin or contaminant in the water. Even though drum fish are bottom-feeders, and thus would hypothetically be more affected by a sinking toxin, we would still see some other fish dying as well.
Every species of fish has a particular and specific tolerance for both temperature and oxygen dilution. This is why pockets of "dead water" most often cause species-specific fish kills - the most susceptible species dies first, while the rest survive.
Species of fish also have different resistances to disease. Disease could easily kill an entire collection of drum fish, while leaving other species intact.
Adding to the situation, January is a tough time for freshwater fish in North America. Water is at its coldest temperatures, which makes fish more sluggish, more susceptible to disease, and means they have a harder time surviving in general.
To help combat these difficult conditions, fish will often school together in one big, deep pool. Although the dead fish have been washing up for 20 miles of shoreline, it's entirely possible that this is just the remains of one big school which picked the wrong pool to hole up in over the new year.
End of days? Or just a coincidence?
Although many theories have been proposed, the most likely cause of the death of the blackbirds is a high-altitude weather event, like heavy hail. All of the dead birds showed large amounts of massive trauma to their internal organs, of the sort that could easily be explained by a sudden and severe high altitude hail storm.
Blackbirds as a species tend to form extremely large flocks, which migrate at high altitudes. Many songbirds migrate at night, taking advantage of a time when predators are likely to be asleep. These migrating birds take flight invisibly in huge flocks, and they fly high, in order to avoid night-roaming owls.
There is also a classic selection bias happening here. Put simply, the baffled residents of Beebe, Arkansas are only seeing the killed birds. It's entirely possible that this was a flock two or three times that size, and that most of the flock was able to fly away unharmed.
Lightning at high altitudes is also a common cause of this kind of sudden bird kill. Lightning can flicker across the clouds even when no storm is nearby, and one burst of lightning can easily take out a flock of birds. However, at this time the indications are running against lightning as a possible cause.
The sudden death of scores of drum fish no doubt has a similarly prosaic cause. Drum fish are a bottom-feeding fish which are also called "croakers," due to their ability to make a drumming noise with their swim bladder.
The fact that the fish kill is limited to only one species tends to rule out some sort of toxin or contaminant in the water. Even though drum fish are bottom-feeders, and thus would hypothetically be more affected by a sinking toxin, we would still see some other fish dying as well.
Every species of fish has a particular and specific tolerance for both temperature and oxygen dilution. This is why pockets of "dead water" most often cause species-specific fish kills - the most susceptible species dies first, while the rest survive.
Species of fish also have different resistances to disease. Disease could easily kill an entire collection of drum fish, while leaving other species intact.
Adding to the situation, January is a tough time for freshwater fish in North America. Water is at its coldest temperatures, which makes fish more sluggish, more susceptible to disease, and means they have a harder time surviving in general.
To help combat these difficult conditions, fish will often school together in one big, deep pool. Although the dead fish have been washing up for 20 miles of shoreline, it's entirely possible that this is just the remains of one big school which picked the wrong pool to hole up in over the new year.
Photo credit: Flickr/Laura Whitehead