July 24, 2004 – Last night on Coast to Coast AM radio, I reported about the earth’s weakening magnetic field and the many reports I receive about large populations of birds disappearing or even dying. I also asked the Earthfiles and radio audience to let me know about bird anomalies. I have received so many reports today that I am sharing some of them from various regions of the country.
E-mail # 1 – Lusk, Wyoming:
“I recently moved back to Wyoming after a 30-year stint in California. One of the first things I noticed was the lack of birds here. The state bird is the Meadowlark and I have always loved listening to them. They are gone.
Within a week of being here, the only birds I saw were robins, not the normal population of sparrows, finches, swallows, etc. I can remember that most of the trees here were filled with nesting populations of these birds.
About a week ago, I noticed that even the robins were gone. I mentioned it to my brother the other day… where are all the birds? He said I would hear them early in the morning, but I had to disagree. I wake up at 5:30 here and there are no birds chattering early in the morning or in the evening. The sky is devoid of all birds.
For the past week I have been on a search for birds, any birds. I had driven dirt roads way out in the country where you would normally see large populations gathering seeds from the wheat fields, but there are none to be seen, sitting on fences or in the sky.
Very strange…..
When I heard your program last night I decided to tell you about this.
There are also the following missing bird reports in the media:
‘Heron colony vanishes into thin air07:26 PM PDT on Wednesday, July 14, 2004
By GARY CHITTIM / KING 5 News
POINT ROBERTS, Wash.
Biologists checking in on one of the region’s largest heron colonies discovered it was gone. A healthy, thriving heron colony is easy to spot from the air. A heron colony at Tsawwassen is tiny compared the massive Point Roberts colony a few miles to the south or at least it used to be.
Flying over it, there’s nothing to see – no birds, no visible nests, just an empty sea of trees. No birds or nests are visible from the air. KING 5 captured video and showed it to Ann Eissinger, the foremost expert on the Point Roberts heron colony. Our pictures confirmed what she witnessed on the ground.
‘The last time I went into the colony, it was quiet. Just the feeling I had was there was something seriously wrong here,’ she said.
To add to the mystery, Eissinger said just a few weeks earlier, the colony was its loud, active self.
‘There were at least a hundred active pairs with young. We don’t know what happened to them. The birds just disappeared,’ she said.
They disappeared somewhere into the vast openness dubbed the Salish Sea stretching from Puget Sound past the Strait of Georgia. Perhaps some joined smaller nearby colonies and some fell prey to a once-struggling, now-booming, local bald eagle population. Nearby development, including a golf resort, may have chased some away. But all of those possibilities combined cannot account for such a mass exodus.
‘This heron colony is the largest in the whole Salish Sea, and has been for decades. There were at least 500 nesting pairs at one time,’ she said.
And while biologists try to figure out where the birds went, the bigger, more serious question is: Why did they leave? Biologists hold out hope the colony is just taking a year off for some reason and will re-establish itself. In the meantime they say it is critical to protect other, healthy heron colonies.’
‘July 12, 2004
Pelicans Mistaking Asphalt for Lakes, Creeks
PHOENIX. ARIZONA
‘It’s a strange sight to see. Nearly two dozen endangered brown pelicans have crashed onto sidewalks and roads, mistaking the heat-induced shimmer of the paved surface for lakes and creeks. Game and Fish says the birds ‘try to land on the water, but it’s asphalt,’ then it’s Bam! The pelicans have been found from Yuma to Phoenix. Most have been located in southern Arizona, where they’ve landed while flying out of Mexico’s Gulf of California. So far, the pelicans have been treated mostly for dehydration and emaciation.’
“I have traveled a 150 mile radius of the town in which I am residing during the past two weeks and have noted this lack of birds from Casper to Cheyenne to Douglas and Torrington. I live in Lusk which is located close to the Nebraska state line. I plan to take several more trips across Wyoming the next couple of weeks and will keep looking.
“E-mail # 2 – Lynwood, Washington:
“On last night’s C2C AM show, you requested any info regarding bird behaviour that we might have noticed. Well, a week ago I accompanied a friend on an afternoon cruise around the bay area where the Skaggit River enters Puget Sound (South of Anacortes, Washington). It was your mid-sized party/tour type of craft, so I had occasion to spend a while talking with the Captain as he steered about, announcing the various wildlife he observed as we passed it. He appeared quite knowledgeable about the bird life especially and we were fortunate to see quite a few different species.
But as we cruised along talking, he suddenly grabbed his binoculars and cut the engines. Then he reached and pulled out a few books, flipped to a page… and yelled ‘I thought So!’. He then announced that a small group of birds on nearby rocks were of a certain species, but then with a frown he flipped to a section showing migratory routes… and then back to the binocs….. And then exclaimed, as he showed me several detailed maps, that these birds, right now, SHOULD be present well above THE ARCTIC CIRCLE during their normal migratory pattern!
Then, a bit later, we cruised by quite a few birds as they floated (and flew) that even I could identify easily……..as Loons! And these Loons are normally always way up in the high altitude lakes of the Cascade Mts. here in WA State this time of year!
Birds have long been an interest as I have lived with a Molluccan Cockatoo for 21 years now, who herself seems to be going thru an outspoken demonstrative phase currently. But anyway the wild birds we spotted seemed to suggest something significant to me, and I was convinced the Captain knew what he was talking about. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name of the species that was supposed to be way up North right now (late July), but could find out if you wanted me to.”
“E-mail # 3 – Chicago, Illinois:
“Early this morning I heard your report on “Coast To Coast AM” with George Noory about the strange incidents that have recently taken place of homing pigeons disappearing, white pelicans vanishing, and what have you. And, I understand that one of the theories proffered presently regarding these extraordinary occurrences is that these birds’ navigational systems may have brought them to exotic places because of the anomalies currently developing in the earth’s magnetic field.
Your request for reports from listeners about strange animal behaviours prompts me to write. I don’t know if you or any of your elegantly educated associates or consultants will consider these observations relevant. But, I thought it might be worth mentioning that here in Chicago in the last few years several groups of Argentine monk parakeets have moved in, and have been nesting here all year round. We have a flock of them occupying a particular tree just a few hundred feet from our home. And, they seem to have no plans to leave. Before they settled in, all of the herrn doktoren had assumed that they could not survive the winters here. But, they have, in fact, been thriving.
Argentine monk parakeets, and various other species of parakeets and parrots, have also established themselves in London, Middlesex (See the enclosed article below.). And, I know from a friend who happens to be a member of the senior faculty at The Hague that parakeets have established themselves there as well, and seem to have every intention of staying on.
I suppose you know that the swallows stopped returning to Capistrano several years ago, too. The theory at that time was that they had moved down the road because the annual swarm of tourists that came to see them had made them uncomfortable. But, nobody really knew. And, I haven’t heard a word about it since. I don’t know if any of these changes has anything to do with the earth’s gravitational field. But, they sure look like portends to me. I certainly never thought I’d live to see any tropical species moving into this neighborhood and laying claim to territory here. I’d be surprised if they don’t know something we don’t.
There are coyotes in Massachusetts now, too, in clear spite of America’s best efforts. And, as far as we know, they’ve never been there before.
‘Ananova:
Wild parrots rife in leafy London The number of wild parrots living in England is rising by 30% per year, according to a new study.
Researchers have been tracking several varieties of parakeet, originally from countries such as India and Brazil, but which are now surviving in ever-greater numbers in southern England.
The findings, from Oxford University’s Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, give a glimpse of exotic creatures in unlikely places. Last summer, there were areas of woodland that sounded more like equatorial rain forest than suburban parkland.
Alexandrine parakeets have been spotted by Lewisham crematorium and orange-winged parakeets, native to the Amazon, have now set up home in Weybridge.
South American monk parakeets have formed a colony in Borehamwood and blue-crowned parakeets were observed in Bromley.
There have been reports that there could now be 20,000 wild parrots, including parakeets, living in England, with the largest concentration around London and the South East.
In the Surrey stockbroker belt, a single sports ground is believed to be home to about 3,000 parrots. The rate of increase, helped by mild winters, is much greater than had been expected.'”
E-mail # 4 – San Antonio, Texas:
“I heard your show this am concerning bird behavior and would like to share my observations.
The birds down here DO seem to be acting strangely! I love animals and try to be very careful when driving so that I will not hit anything…but more and more, the birds are “divebombing” in front of the car as people drive down the road. It is the strangest thing! And their flight patterns are erratic, as though they are confused or drunk. It has been harder and harder to keep from hitting them because they fly down so quickly, and yesterday, I hit the first one in my life.
Actually, it was my son that mentioned it a while ago, because he had one fly straight into his windshield and crack it, so I began to pay attention.”
E-mail # 5 – Southern California:
“I live in southern Ca and own a number of properties in northern Ca so it keeps me going back and forth. Last week I was heading back home here to Southern Ca, I was in central Ca maybe 1.5 hours south of Sacramento there is it mostly fields and a lot of birds usually in the area. I had my 2 sons with me, we noticed a HUGE flock of black birds, the reg type for that area, but there must have been over 1,000 it looked like the sky was almost blacked out by them, that in itself was a bit odd, but then as we got closer I noticed this odd behavior, usually when there is a large flock of birds like that they can maneuver together, usually following the leading birds and they kind of move around like a big flag following each other.
But these were very very erratic hitting each other, going in all different directions then going back all of them were heading in different directions then it seemed like they realized this and headed back to group then many of them would hit each other , there were 30 or so dead and many more hitting the ground then bouncing about a bit then would get up , fly away and do this again. We stopped there for close to 20 minutes to watch this odd spectacle. I have never seen anything like this before, I am not sure if this is considered odd behavior, but it was odd to me so I am sending you this email.”
E-mail # 6 – Southwestern North Dakota:
“I have just read the article about birds on your website and I felt compelled to send a note. Now in my 40’s , I am a life long observer of birds. I reside in North Dakota and have for the last five years. And I just keep on saying to myself or to others , ‘What is up with the birds?’ They are acting strange.
I have seen large groups of different types of birds flocking in the middle of July, an unusual occurrence. I live out in the country and have been driving up and down this road for five years now and every summer you might take out a bird here or there if they are slow to get out of the way. Not too unusual to hit a meadow lark or some other bird upon occasion, but I am hitting them almost daily. They fly right into my grill! And I am a bird lover. I try to avoid birds at all cost, but these birds are, I am starting to think , suicidal! It is almost like their navigation abilities are not what they should be or use to be?
And it has always been my experience that birds usually do whatever they can to miss the car , but geez not this year. I have seen Robins landing in trees and it is almost like they have never landed before. They look like they are dive bombing into the tree sometimes. Not graceful about their landings, that sort of thing. Maybe it has to do with the magnetic pull or shift of the earth. And I found it very interesting reading about the white pelican populations. I live in the south western corner of North Dakota. Very near the Montana border. There is a lake in a nearby Montana town, Baker. The lake had an enormous amount of pelicans this summer, more then I have ever observed. The lake is small and they have decided it is contaminated. They are saying the possible source of the contamination is the large amount of pelican feces in the lake? Weird goings on. Good luck to you and your wonderful website and keep up the good work. So what is up with the birds? I guess time will tell. But this birder has noticed things are just not quite right.”
E-mail # 7 – East Grand Forks, Minnesota:
“It’s been 3 years since I’ve seen an English Sparrow. They were hardy birds that can take the winters up here in East Grand Forks Minnesota. I came here in 1972. They were here year after year, until the year 1998. Where did they go? What happened to them?”
E-mail # 8 – Surrey, British Columbia:
“I live in Surrey, BC – last night I noticed a very unusual formation of crows that I’ve never seen before. A ‘loosely knit’ formation of about 200 crows flew over our condo last night at about 200 ft. I thought it was unusual, because they were spread out quite a bit, it took about 5 minutes for them to pass, and, I noticed that they were flying magnetic north. The #1 reason I think this was not typical was that they appeared to be in a great hurry, as though they were being pursued. A few minutes later they were followed by a small flock (20 or so) Starlings on the same flight plan.”
I would appreciate receiving more reports from the Earthfiles and radio audience to: [email protected]
© 1998 - 2024 by Linda Moulton Howe.
All Rights Reserved.