Birds Ignite in California Skies

This is sad:

(NEWSER) – A cutting-edge solar technology in California's Mojave Desert may have a bit too much cut. Wildlife officials say they've counted one bird being scorched to death every two minutes by intensely focused rays of light at the BrightSource Energy plant, considered the largest solar thermal power plant of its kind in the world. The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System uses more than 300,000 mirrors the size of garage doors to focus the sun's power toward "power towers" as many as 40 stories tall, and can power as many as 140,000 homes. Google is one of three owners of the plant at Ivanpah Dry Lake, near the Nevada border. (Source here)

Biologists race to solve mysterious mass animal deaths in Florida lagoon | Fox News

Very sad, very scary...

Biologists race to solve mysterious mass animal deaths in Florida lagoon | Fox News: At least 111 manatees, 300 pelicans, and 46 dolphins — emaciated to the point of skin and bones — were all found dead in America’s most biologically diverse estuary.

Something is seriously wrong. The northern stretches of the Indian River Lagoon of Florida has a mass murder mystery that biologists are racing to figure out. The lagoon contains more species than anywhere else in the U.S. It is a barrier island complex stretching across 40 percent of Florida’s coast, around Cape Canaveral, and consisting of the Mosquito Lagoon, the Banana River and the Indian River Lagoon.

"De-extinction"

Some scientists want to bring back long dead animals. (Scientists Want to Bring Some Animals Back from Extinction - Yahoo! Finance) (Odd this article was listed in the "finance" section.) This is called "de-extinction." Dinosaurs are not on the list of creatures these Mad Scientists would like to bring back from the dead, but not for the obvious reasons, one being: Jesus Fucking Christ, they're dinosaurs!! Did you SEE Jurassic Park?! but because the dinosaur DNA is too "degraded." However, "ethics" or really "criteria" are a part of the process for deciding what gets reconstituted:

They chose the animals using the following criteria: Are the species desirable — do they hold an important ecological function or are they beloved by humans? Are the species practical choices — do we have access to tissue that could give us good quality DNA samples or germ cells to reproduce the species? And are they able to be reintroduced to the wild — are the habitats in which they live available and do we know why they went extinct in the first place?

"Beloved by humans?" Dodos seem pretty cute to me but who can say; that seems hardly the point. And how can one possibly be sure a reactivated animal could be safely introduced into the wild? Astounding that there are conferences where mad scientists gather to seriously ponder such possibilities.

The article includes a list of potential animals on the Dr. Evil Wish List. Among them: the DoDo, the Wooly Mammoth, the saber-toothed cat, and that Fortean mascot, the Thylacine.

The Dodo and the Quagga, among others, were hunted to extinction by man. Will these animals be brought back, only to have that happen again? Will it be legal to hunt these animals? Is it moral to bring back animals just so we can use them for our enjoyment, for example, open "De-extinction canned hunt camps?"

Mass Animal Deaths

Sad and strange list of mass animal deaths worldwide. Mainly sea life, which is chilling, for that's clearly a signal to us all about the quality of our oceans.Mass Animal Death

Canibal Shrimp Invasion

Cannibal shrimp: The invasion has begun

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TheRecord - Bear necessities produce hybrid beast

Now they have a name for it: "grolars" or, alternately, "pizzly": TheRecord - Bear necessities produce hybrid beast

Mutated Trout Raise New Concerns Over Selenium - NYTimes.com

Two headed trout? Why that's normal. More for your buck...
Mutated Trout Raise New Concerns Over Selenium - NYTimes.com

Photographs of variously mutated brown trout were relegated to an appendix of a scientific study commissioned by the J. R. Simplot Company, whose mining operations have polluted nearby creeks in southern Idaho. The trout were the offspring of local fish caught in the wild that had been spawned in the laboratory. Some had two heads; others had facial, fin and egg deformities.

Yet the company’s report concluded that it would be safe to allow selenium — a metal byproduct of mining that is toxic to fish and birds — to remain in area creeks at higher levels than are now permitted under regulatory guidelines.

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Did a legendary chupacabra slaughter 35 sheep? Man claims he saw creatures with fangs, and wings killing livestock | Mail Online

Sad and mysterious, unexplained deaths of dozens of sheep. Nearby animals such as pigs, etc. were not attacked. Little blood, sheep not ripped apart, so what caused it? Illness? One witness says he saw a winged being in the area:

Did a legendary chupacabra slaughter 35 sheep? Man claims he saw creatures with fangs, and wings killing livestock | Mail Online:

When farmers in Mexico found 35 of their sheep slaughtered with significant claw and tooth marks around their necks, they had one creature to blame – the legendary chupacabra.

One man tending to the sheep overnight in the small Mexican town of Paracuaro said he saw animals with sharp fangs and wings kill the livestock.

About a hundred dead birds block I-95 traffic - WTOP.com

About a hundred dead birds block I-95 traffic - WTOP.com

WASHINGTON - Hundreds of dead birds blocked traffic for hours Wednesday afternoon on Interstate 95 in Laurel.
The heavy congestion clogged the highway back to Route 212, but the real trouble happened just north of the Intercounty Connector near MD-198 (exit 33).
Inspectors from the Maryland Highway State Administration think the birds were killed after flying into huge power lines that cross the highway and are secured by large towers on either side.

Russia X-Files: Reporters, Cops Discover Dead Hares After Witnessing Mystery Light | DBKP - Death By 1000 Papercuts - DBKP

Strange lights, remote areas in Russia, dead hares: Russia X-Files: Reporters, Cops Discover Dead Hares After Witnessing Mystery Light. Thanks to Lesley at The Debris Field for link.

A Dead Whale In Tokyo Bay

A Dead Whale In Tokyo Bay

As for the dead blue whale in Tokyo Bay (see below), it probably was while still healthy...feeding somewhere between the Bering Strait and the Sea of Okhotsk, unknowingly ingesting radioactive and chemically-contaminated krill at depths of 100 meters or more. These krill are spawned over the Japan Trench were the warm Kuroshio meets the cold Liman currents.

Upon feeling strange symptoms in its gut and having difficulty in holding in air, the huge cetacean rose to the surface for easier breathing and slowly swam southward in the Liman/Oyashio Current in search of warmer waters. Once past Choshi Point, it headed toward the brackish water flowing out of Tokyo Bay in hopes of reaching the estuary of the Edo River, where it could rest in the shallow bed of running fresh water. It senses filth in the water, however, and decides to push further south in search of a cleaner river.

Mystery as 20 TONNES of fish wash up on Kvaenes beach in Norway | Mail Online

Mystery as 20 TONNES of fish wash up on Kvaenes beach in Norway | Mail Online

Thousands of dead herring have been discovered washed up on a north Norwegian beach - prompting Doomsday predictors to hail it as another sign the world is set to end.
More than 20 tonnes of the fish is currently carpeting the beach of Kvaenes, in Nordreisa, with experts views differing on how they have come to be there. One thing is for sure, it will provide welcome ammunition to those believing the Mayan prophecy that 2012 will bring the end of Earth.

There are theories of course:

"...Maybe the fish have been caught in a deprived oxygen environment, and then died of fresh water?'... Experts have said the school could have been trapped by tidal waters after predatory fish - such as coalfish - chased them towards the shoreline. . . the fish were washed ashore during a recent storm, or trapped in shallow waters and affected by freshwater from a river that flows into the bay... several factors could have come together at once. . . they had died of a disease.

The article ends with a mention of Beebee, Arkansas.

Beebe: Fortean Synchronicity Name Game

(Thanks to Greg Nathan) I discovered yet another Fortean twist to the bird falls-Beebe name game. The town of Beebe, Arkansas, as I wrote in the earlier posts, was named after Roswell Beebe. Another twist: the inventor of the bathysphere as William Beebe, among other things, an ornithologist:

William Beebe, born Charles William Beebe (July 29, 1877 – June 4, 1962)^[2] was an American naturalist, ornithologist, marine biologist, entomologist, explorer, and author. He is remembered for the numerous expeditions he conducted for the New York Zoological Society, his deep dives in the Bathysphere, and his prolific scientific writing for both academic and popular audiences. ~ (source: Wikipedia)

Dead Blackbirds Fall Again in Ark. Town - ABC News

Fortean coincidences: birds fall from trees on New Year's in the south, specifically, Beebe, Arkansas, which is where the bird falls happened last New Year's:Dead Blackbirds Fall Again in Ark. Town - ABC News From ABC News:

Thousands of dead blackbirds rained down on a town in central Arkansas last New Year's Eve after revelers set off fireworks that spooked them from their roost, and officials were reporting a similar occurrence Saturday as 2012 approached.

Police in Beebe said dozens of blackbirds had fallen dead, prompting officers to ban residents from shooting fireworks Saturday night. It wasn't immediately clear if fireworks were again to blame, but authorities weren't taking a chance.

Officer John Weeks said the first reports of "birds on the streets" came around 7 p.m. as residents celebrated the year's end with fireworks in their neighborhoods.

"We started shutting down fireworks," he said. "We're working on cleaning up the birds now."

The Huffington Post had a short AP item on the story.

And here's pretty much the same item from Beebe, Arkansas, but with video.

See the Bird Falls tab at top of blog for more bird stories.

Another Mass Bird Death Event

Over 30 Birds Mysteriously Die on Montgomery Co. Road | LEX18.com | Lexington, Kentucky

There's a bizarre scene in Montgomery County where dozens of birds are dead.
More than 30 birds are lying dead on Indian Mound Drive at the intersection of Grassy Lick Road in Mt. Sterling.
All the birds appear to be the same species, and seem to have died and landed at this spot all at once.
No word yet about what caused their death.
The strange sight was first spotted on Christmas morning by people who live nearby.

And on the 15th of this month, this mass bird death event in Utah. As I commented in that post, it was close to this time last year we saw many mass bird falls; are we about to witness more of these in the next month or so?

USDA found to be poisoning bird populations, causing mass die-offs involving millions of birds

Natural News brings us their top ten censored stories of 2011, including this one about the government's intentional eradication of birds and other animals: USDA found to be poisoning bird populations, causing mass die-offs involving millions of birds.

After hundreds of starlings were found dead in the Yankton Riverside Park, concerned citizens began to investigate. Before long, a USDA official called the local police and admitted they had poisoned the birds. "They say that they had poisoned the birds about ten miles south of Yankton and they were surprised they came to Yankton like they did and died in our park," says Yankton Animal Control Officer Lisa Brasel, as reported by KTIV (http://www.ktiv.com/Global/story.as...).

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/031076_USDA_bird_deaths.html#ixzz1hgCS8jcU

Giant shrimp raises big concern as it invades the Gulf - Houston Chronicle

The Gulf will never be the same; and the invasion of giant shrimp adds to the problems in the area: Giant shrimp raises big concern as it invades the Gulf - Houston Chronicle

Though no one is sure what the ecological impact will be, scientists fear a tiger prawn takeover could knock nature's balance out of whack and turn a healthy, diverse marine habitat into one dominated by a single invasive species.
"It has the potential to be real ugly," said Leslie Hartman, Matagorda Bay ecoystem leader for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. "But we just do not know."

Thousands of birds make crash landing in Utah - Yahoo! News

Thousands of birds make crash landing in Utah - Yahoo! News

Thousands of grebes, flying in the Utah skies, fell to their deaths yesterday. Official explanation: the birds confused snow covered parking lots for water.

That may be. But the timing of this tragic event is odd, just about two weeks shy of the first of several mass bird falls- from-the-skies from last year. Hopefully this isn't the first in a series of bird falls.

Three eyed fish found in Argentinian Lake

In a frightening life imitates art moment, a three eyed fish is found in a lake near a nuclear facility where water from that facility is routinely dumped. With photo: Three-Eyed Fish Discovered Near Argentinian Nuclear Facility
 

Return of the Bird Falls

October 21, 2011, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina: dozens of birds fall from the skies. No explanation yet. And something I noticed in the news cast posted here, no mention at all of the several stories of birds falling dead from the skies that the U.S. and other places across the planet witnessed at the end of 2010 and Jan. of 2011. Impossible to say if there's a connection or what the cause of the current deaths is, but it is interesting this die-off also occurred in the south. The first bird die-offs we heard of last year, in early January, was last year, when over a thousand birds fell from the skies in Bebe, Arkansas.




Ontario, Canada, October 22, 2011: hundreds of birds and fish dead and dying on the shore of Wasaga Beach. Link has video clip with article:

The Ministry of Natural Resources is investigating after hundreds of birds and fish washed up on the shores of Georgian Bay near Wasaga Beach.
Police say that the wildlife is scattered along a nearly three-kilometre stretch north of Wasaga Beach.

"You just want to cry," resident Faye Ego told CTV Toronto.
Locals said they noticed some dead fish on the beach a few weeks ago and a few dead birds earlier in September.
"But now this is just multiplied," Ego said, adding that the situation is "absolutely devastating."
Ontario Provincial Police Const. Peter Leon said that the number of dead birds is estimated to be between 5,000 and 6,000.

At this point, authorities are theorizing Botulism is the cause of the deaths.

(thanks to Above Top Secret for the links.)