[Mike]

Hi Folks
I’m not clear as to what is normal, but we have seen many more dead
and dying birds here in AZ too.
“They couldn’t fly, they were dying”, Seen this in our back yard
several times and in other unexpected locations.
I did post an alert here, a couple of weeks ago, regarding an
unknown bird virus killing birds in Kingman AZ.
I sure wish I had someone in my neck of the woods to help compile
some of this data.
Gosh, it seems like a full time job.
I got’a get more fun in my life!!:)
Bridget

http://www.wtoctv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3560575&nav=0qq5bote
07/06/05
West Nile Ruled Out in Mystery Bird Deaths

Unknown Illness Killing Birds

You don’t expect to see dead or dying birds in your backyard. One
Savannah woman did recently. The big question is, what killed them?

Last month, Diane Connerat found seven dead or dying birds in the
driveway of her Ardsley Park home in the span of just a few days.
“That scared me because I was afraid to go out in the backyard
because I thought, ‘Oh no, it’s going to keep happening,'” she said.
Tuesday, tests on the birds themselves came back negative for West
Nile virus, and mosquito pools around her neighborhood also showed
no signs of it. That certainly made Connerat feel a little better.
“Oh absolutely, because matter of fact, I saw a mosquito in my house
and I thought, ‘I hope this is not West Nile,'” she said. “Because
we still hadn’t heard.”

Connerat and the health department are both still very interested in
finding out what it was that killed the birds. Especially because of
how bizarre the deaths appeared to be.

“They couldn’t fly, they were dying, they were being eaten from the
inside out and maggots were surrounding their eyes,” recalled
Connerat. “It was horrible.”

But since those first few dead birds, Connerat hasn’t seen any more
and hopes it stays that way.

The state labs in Athens will run a few more tests on the birds
before issuing a final report.
Reported by: Chris Cowperthwaite