Thousands of blackbirds rain on Beebe, Arkansas … again

Same thing happened over the same town on New Year’s Eve in 2010

Source: Dateline Zero

When it thousands of birds rained down over Beebe, Arkansas at the close of 2010, experts reasoned that fireworks may have been the culprit. But when similar occurrences happened elsewhere, many people became skeptical about the fireworks explanation.

Other explanations had been put forward — from “polar shift” to the unusual weather (which included severe thunderstorms and tornadoes), to poisoning.

This year, being 2012, suggestions are likely to include the apocalypse; as blackbirds have once again rained from the sky over Beebe.

Because this comes only about a week after birds fell from the sky over Utah, it’s fair to say: “Here we go again!”

SEE: “Dead Starlings in Utah a Mystery”

Arkansas officials seem to be sticking with the fireworks explanation, according toNY Daily News:

The disturbing deaths in Beebe, a city northwest of Little Rock, were sparked after loud fireworks sent flocks of the small birds into a panic, scientists said. This caused them to collide with each other, as well as power lines, houses and cars.

A few observations about the fireworks explanation. If it’s fireworks, why doesn’t this happen over other cities on December 31? Many cities do fireworks. Moreover, if fireworks frighten and confuse birds, why doesn’t this happen all over the United States on July 4, when every city — big and small — have fireworks being launched into the sky?

What makes it even weirder is that these occurrences largely involve one species at a time — most recently, Blackbirds in Arkansas, and Starlings in Utah.

ABC News had a report that took a more skeptical approach. This was echoed at The Daily Mail, under a rather dramatic headline: “First sign of an apocalyptic year to come? Thousands of blackbirds fall to their death in Arkansas town for second New Year’s Eve in a row”

Full post at Dateline Zero