When Hope Dies?

Published on January 9, 2007 By Phoenixboi In Current Events

Today it has been revealed how something quite catastrophic has happened in the town of Esperance in Western Australia. It has really shocked me that something like this has happened. It is a really sad event which has played on my mind all day.

I did a little research into the town of Esperance and it's history and found that the town derives it's name from the ship which first landed there in 1792, L'Esperance which sought shelter from a storm. The name Esperance has been closely translated by the University of Western Australia as meaning : " Hope with confidence and faith in the future". Now here is the article which was published today on the News.com.au website. Link

Thousands of birds fall from sky over town
By Amanda O'Brien
January 10, 2007 01:00am

THOUSANDS of birds have fallen from the skies over Esperance and no one knows why.

Is it an illness, toxins or a natural phenomenon? A string of autopsies in Perth have shed no light on the mystery.

All the residents of flood-devastated Esperance know is that their "dawn chorus" of singing birds is missing.

The main casualties are wattle birds, yellow-throated miners, new holland honeyeaters and singing honeyeaters, although some dead crows, hawks and pigeons have also been found.

Wildlife officers are baffled by the "catastrophic" event, which the Department of Environment and Conservation said began well before last week's freak storm.

On Monday, Esperance, 725km southeast of Perth, was declared a natural disaster zone.

District nature conservation co-ordinator Mike Fitzgerald said the first reports of birds dropping dead in people's yards came in three weeks ago. More than 500 deaths had since been notified. But the calls stopped suddenly last week, reportedly because no birds were left.

"It's very substantial. We estimate several thousand birds are dead, although we don't have a clear number because of the large areas of bushland," Mr Fitzgerald said.

Birds Australia, the nation's main bird conservation group, said it had not heard of a similar occurrence. "Not on that scale, and all at the same time, and also the fact that it's several different species," chief executive Graeme Hamilton said. "You'd have to call that a most unusual event and one that we'd all have to be concerned about."

He expected birds would return to the area once the problem - natural or man-made phenomenon - was fixed but said it was vital the cause was identified.

The Department of Agriculture and Food, which conducted the autopsies, has almost ruled out an infectious process.

Acting chief veterinary officer Fiona Sunderman said toxins were the most likely cause but the deaths could be due to anything from toxic algae to chemicals and pesticides.

Dr Sunderman said there were no leads yet on which of potentially hundreds of toxins might be responsible. Some birds were seen convulsing as they died.

Michelle Crisp was one of the first to contact the DEC after finding dozens of dead birds on her property one morning.

She told The Australian she normally had hundreds of birds in her yard, but that she and a neighbour counted 80 dead birds in one day.

"It went to the point where we had nothing, not a bird," she said.

"It was like a moonscape, just horrible. But the frightening thing for us, we didn't find any more birds after that. We literally didn't have any birds left to die."

Now remembering the meaning of the name of the town, how does this reflect on the times we are now facing? Something to think about JU.

Comments (Page 1)

jennifer1

on Jan 09, 2007

wow this sounds intriguing, I wonder what conclusions they will eventually come to?

MasonM

on Jan 09, 2007

Very strange, a similar mass bird death event just happened in TX.

Phoenixboi

on Jan 09, 2007

Very strange, a similar mass bird death event just happened in TX.

Yeah I read about that Mason... very weird, the difference with this one though is that there are thousands of birds that have died.

MasonM

on Jan 09, 2007

Yeah, I got that, but it's still an odd coincidence don't you think? There is something strange afoot.

Phoenixboi

on Jan 09, 2007

it's still an odd coincidence don't you think?

Yeah i do think. I can't imagine not hearing the birds, it would sound very wrong to suddenly not have any birds or bird sounds.

Shovelheat

on Jan 09, 2007

First thing: glad to "see" you PB! Long time no see and glad you're making an appearance.

I've noticed of late a strange flocking behavior of the grackles here. There's THOUSANDS of them and they are coming into town to roost in the powerlines and trees around a local grocery store of all places. Wierd. I feel like I'm in a Hitchcock movie when i go buy a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk. So what's really goin' on?

Phoenixboi

on Jan 09, 2007

First thing: glad to "see" you PB! Long time no see and glad you're making an appearance.

Thanks Shovel

Something that I have been thinking about is that birds usually go on magnetic fields. Could there be something happening with the megnetic fields?

MasonM

on Jan 09, 2007

I don't think a flux in the Earth's magnetic field would kill the birds, just confuse their sense of direction. As birds are highly sensitive to air quality I'd guess some toxin in the air.

bakerstreet

on Jan 10, 2007

Waking or asleep,
Thou of death must deem
Things more true and deep
Than we mortals dream,
Or how could thy notes flow in such a crystal stream?

Phoenixboi

on Jan 10, 2007

Waking or asleep,Thou of death must deemThings more true and deepThan we mortals dream,Or how could thy notes flow in such a crystal stream?

Nice Baker.. where is that from?

bakerstreet

on Jan 10, 2007

To A Skylark, by Shelley

Zoologist03

on Jan 10, 2007

I'd guess some kind of toxin...and apparently it's very deadly. Or perhaps some new pathogen that's apparently very lethal...and that's a scary thought.

Aren't birds dying some kind of creepy omen or something?...

Also, magnetic changes shouldn't kill birds...at least not to the extent of my knowledge.

~Zoo

Phoenixboi

on Jan 10, 2007

To A Skylark, by Shelley

Thanks Baker!

I'd guess some kind of toxin...and apparently it's very deadly. Or perhaps some new pathogen that's apparently very lethal...and that's a scary thought.

One or the other wouldnt be a good thing. Well if it was an omen , it already struck as the town was hit by the remnants of a mini cyclone.

Phoenixboi

on Jan 12, 2007

Thanks LW! xox.. this could also be a partial explanation for why the weather has been so freaking weird! The sun is also about to enter another solar maximum cycle as well. Still no word on what caused the deaths though.

Tova7

on Jan 12, 2007

I'm late to the party...BUT, I have noticed more birds than usual around here this winter. My bird feeder is always empty and it holds a 15 lb bag of feed. I can't keep food in it.

And they are in huge flocks. But maybe I am just noticing them more since its warm this winter and I am outside more?

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:

Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums.
Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
It's simple, and FREE!