Thousands of birds make crash landing in US

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/international/2011/December/international_December544.xml&section=international

(AP)

15 December 2011, 10:57 PM

ST. GEORGE, Utah — Thousands of migratory birds died on impact after apparently mistaking a Wal-Mart parking lot and other areas of southern Utah for bodies of water and plummeting to the ground in what one wildlife expert called the worst downing she’s ever seen.

Crews went to work cleaning up the dead birds and rescuing the survivors after the creatures crash-landed in the St. George area Monday night.

By Tuesday evening, volunteers had rescued more than 2,000 birds, releasing them into nearby bodies of water.

“They’re just everywhere,” said Teresa Griffin, wildlife program manager for the Utah Department of Wildlife Resource’s southern region. “It’s been nonstop. All our employees are driving around picking them up, and we’ve got so many people coming to our office and dropping them off.”

[valerief]

1. This is really, really strange. When do huge flocks of birds mistake parking lots for water? Weird.

[arbusto_baboso]

2. Have you ever flown in a small aircraft?

Human pilots frequently lose track of the horizon, the surface of the ocean versus sky, and many other things. It's damn tricky up there, and even with a bird's superior vision, I can see how things like this would happen.

[valerief]

5. Birds are smarter than pilots. And with all our parking lots, then it s/b

happening all the time.

[GoCubsGo]

16. Birds don't see things the way we do.

They see a wider range of the light spectrum than do humans. And, given the position of their eyes in their heads, they have a different field of vision. Any of that can muck up what they're seeing from thousands of feet in the air during a storm. Don't assume that animals see things as humans do, because with the exception of other primates, they don't.

[valerief]

17. So because we have so many parking lots it's happening all the time? nt

[GoCubsGo]

18. We don't have large flocks of migragting grebes flying over large parking lots...

...just as a storm is hitting all the time. As the article points out this isn't an uncommon occurrence. The only thing uncommon about it was the numbers of birds "downing" at once. BTW, birds smack into buildings in broad daylight and die by the hundreds of millions every year. They can't always tell reflections from reality, be they glass windows or wet parking lots.
http://www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/collisions/glass.html

[valerief]

19. Thanks

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. From high up, with right light conditions

it looks like water.

Not from a jet mind you, but a Cessna would give you that view.

[valerief]

7. Birds are smarter than people and have way better eyesight. They fly for real. nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Yes, but that is the issue

tarmac can reflect in a way that looks like water.

I just told you HOW it happens... it's like the sparrow NOT seeing the clean window that kills it.

[kenny blankenship]

9. Once a few birds smack down on the asphalt

and are sitting there motionless, they look like they're sitting in the water to the other flocks that are still in the air. It's like the decoy effect.

[Old and In the Way]

12. Sounds right to me. nt

[AtomicKitten]

4. This is nature's commentary on Wal-Mart.

Bastardos!!

[Old and In the Way]

6. Watch out for falling...birds.

I assume that these flocks follow the leader? I suppose that includes making descents onto what they thought was water?

[underpants]

8. As God is my witness I thought....

[Joe Shlabotnik]

11. Was Les Nessman and the WKRP news chopper anywhere in the vicinity?

Maybe a Christmas promotion.

[Cleita]

13. Mirage?

When DH and I traveled through Utah we saw lots of mirages. Maybe that's why the birds mistook the parking lot for a body of water.

[Tyrs WolfDaemon]

14. How do we know the birds weren't trying to attack Walmart for stealing their eggs

You know, like in that game everyone seems to play

[Dragonbreathp9d]

15. I think they were protesting how the stock market works