Grisly mystery after scores of starlings fall out of the sky and lie dying... in a SINGLE front gard

I would have to go with a natural phenomenon like a Wind Shear Or a Microburst.

Bit of a weird one though

Once again..

No HAARP, no microwave guns, no invisible tanks..

Originally posted by WatchTheWorld
This story was also on the BBC news website, they said the most likely explanation was that the birds where taking evasive action to avoid a predator and flew into the ground at speeds without realising.

BBC News link

In this case that could be a sound explanation for what happened. It has happened that way before.
I watch out for this type of thing as it interests me, but i will say this about our wonderful BBC ( as shown in the link).

Predator theory....

Our best guess....

This is the same BBC that showed pictures of angolian child soldiers with the presenter saying that they were armed with AK-47's. Supplied from the soviet union as is all there kit. Even the papers ran this same story/picture/ headline.

When in fact it was later shown that the BBc had cropped the original photo and the child soldiers were just a show for their men going to war to bolster morale. Also the weapons the kids were holding were in fact M16's.

Sorry if i went off subject i apologise, and im not saying anyone is wrong in this case.

Whatever happened its still a very interesting case..

reply to post by Silcone Synapse


I talked with my husband about this and he said it sounds like a chemical killed them. Just because they were bleeding from the mouth. I'll be honest I did think it could, maybe, have been a UFO, like in the movie signs where the guy's brother said a bird hit their ship in sky and just dropped. That's me in my fantasy brain! hehehe.

I also thought of a possibility that they saw their reflection in a window an decided to attack the "other birds" As birds tend to do that. It could have been rat poison, pesticide, chem trails, anything!

reply to post by mysticalzoe


Could be some kind of chemical,although it was said earlier that for all the birds to have ingested/breathed enough toxin to kill them all at the same time would be quite a big coincidence.

I still think the "evasive action" to avoid a predatory bird is a good explanation,as if the flock of birds was near the ground when they had to scatter-some may well have hit the ground hard.


Any and all theories welcome though.

I also have another bird related thread,although it is of a very different nature.
Put your Rad suits on if you dare,and visit:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Originally posted by stumason

Originally posted by NightGypsy
Chased by predators and got confused--no. It sounds like some of them were already dead before they hit the ground, which means something traumatic while in flight.

Oh dear lord...

Where does it say that any of them "seemed dead before they hit the ground"? You're just making stuff up now.

A crash landing is afr more plausable than some secret microwave nonsense or HAARP..

You do know where this occured, don't you? Deepest, darkest Somerset.. Hardly a hotbed for secret military tests, poison clouds or HAARP attacks....

Jeebus, some people will happily believe the most outlandish idea's before even considering the most sensible.

Microwave radar and communications equipment is not secret, or at least not "some secret military equipment" that can be compared to HAARP. In fact, it is quite plausible as almost any tactical communications unit will use microwave communication technology. It has nothing to do with HAARP or any other secret or clandestine military operation. I was a paratrooper in the 10th Mountain Div of the US Army and the commo guys that were attached to us used to zap birds out of the sky all the time to fight boredom in the field. Obviously, they weren't supposed to be doing that but I don't think anyone minded so much as to keep these guys from blowing off a little steam. Again, it is not some conspiracy that military commo guys use their microwave equipment to blow off a little steam by zapping birds out of the sky.

With that being said, I haven't seen those guys zap an entire flock of birds, only one or two bigger birds at a time such as a crow or fench. Starlings however are very small birds who fly extremely close together, usually following the movement of the two birds on either side which makes them appear as if they all are in perfect synch with each other. If any regular old standard military microwave communications equipment were aimed at this synchronized flock of very small birds, it should easily zap the birds out of the sky as long as the microwaves were strong enough and they should all strike the ground very close together. Because of the speed of microwaves, it would zap the entire flock at the exact same time and because of the synchronization of the flock, they should all have the same trajectory which would make them all land almost or just as close as they were flying.

I certainly wasn't suggesting that it is some conspiracy or secret military technology, rather that it was standard military commo equipment that uses microwaves and it was probably some kids blowing off a little steam. It may have even been a legit use of this microwave equipment and the birds just happened to cross the mircowave beams. It might not have even been military equipment at all. It could have been civillian microwave commo equipment used in the same way. Also, starlings are considered a nuisance in a lot of places so this could have been a legit expirement at pest control but a huge PR nightmare with the animal rights activists. Whatever it may be, I would almost bet money that it was microwave equipment because this is the best way to explain why they may have all fallen together and crashed in the same place. Microwave communications are certainly not some clandestine military technology or anything like that.

Edited to add: I seriously doubt that these birds hit the ground because of evasive measures taken as a result of a predator. Starlings are some of the most accomplished flyers and their senses can alert them to their altitude. For evasive measures, Starlings generally flock really tight together, while other nearby flocks will actually join the targeted flock. Then as a very tight large flock, they will maneuver in ways to which a predator simply can't keep up or separate the birds. They are very effective at out maneuvering predators, especially as a flock.

[edit on 11-3-2010 by airspoon]

Originally posted by Silcone Synapse


Anyone have any other ideas as to why som many birds dropped out of the sky and landed so close together?

I do. I think they hit a cloaked UFO.

You dont know. It could be right.

reply to post by Illusionsaregrander


You are correct,I do not know.
I lean towards a certain explanation,but can I 100% rule out a shielded craft from another world?

No.

But personally,I still respectfully go with a hawk attack as probable cause,in this case-but who really knows?

reply to post by airspoon


Wow, thank you for that..

Obviously, as I work in telecoms and use microwave radio systems I would never have known that. Now I can sleep easier at night knowing that RADAR and communications systems using microwaves are not secret and in common use!

Aside from what you speculate, I am going with expert and eyewitness accounts. Namely, they have INJURIES CONSISTENT WITH A HARD IMPACT, not microwave induced injuries and they were WITNESSED AS HITTING THE DECK.

Had they been "irradiated", they would show injuries consitent with this. They do not.

The fact they all landed within metres of each other means they were all together at the time of impact, in their flock for example. Some birds were still alive after the impact but had to put down because injuries were too severe. Injuries consitent with an impact.

Just because, generally, they are accomplished flyers, that doesn't mean cock-ups don't occur.

Whales are accomplished navigators and swimmers, yet many end up beached after tkaing a wrong turn in a channel.

Sardines use the same evasive techniques as starlings and predators actually use this against them to consume the whole shoal.

I've seen birds crash into all sorts of things. I see animals all the time that are supposedly good at what they do making a right pigs ear of it. Mistakes happen.

All the evidence points to one conclusion, yet you get people espousing rediculous theories, boldly claiming "I think they MUST have hit an invisible UFO. Thats the only answer!".

No, it isn't and in fact it's the least likely answer there is, closely followed by being microwaved.

The most likely answer, given the evidence, is they crashed.

I'll post this again for those who are somewhat challenged:

Ms Sparkes said: "Onlookers said they heard a whooshing sound and then the birds just hit the ground.

"They had fallen on to the ground in quite a small area, about 12ft (3.6m) in diameter.

"They appeared to be in good condition other than injuries that they appear to have suffered when they hit they ground.

"Our best guess is that this happened because the starlings were trying to escape a predator such as a sparrow hawk and ended up crash landing."

The whooshing is the sound starlings make whejn flying in a flock, so they were still flapping when they hit the ground.

I cannot believe this thread has run for so long with people still refusing to accept that this is a mundane NON-EVENT.

Before long, we'll have stories being posted about "Cat found dead in road with innards potruding from it's stomach!" and people speculating whether it was a Chupacabra or whether it was in fact an invisible UFO that landed on the hapless feline.

Seriously people, you all worry about the world going to pot, but it's hardly surprising given the obvious lack of critical thinking on display here.

Originally posted by Korg Trinity

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/44aee329d23b.jpg[/atsimg]

peace out,

Korg.

Mmmmm Kaaayyy... ;~)

[edit on 10-3-2010 by Korg Trinity]

Looks like 4 x 20 blackbirds, anyone have a pie crust?

reply to post by stumason


Maybe we just like speculating about cloaked UFOs?

Maybe, its more fun. Plus, since there are no interviews, that I know of, with any survivors of the incident all any of us can do is speculate.

Cloaked UFOs is a very ATS suggestion. I do appreciate all the other ones, such as hawks driving them all into the ground, etc. Although I have seen many a hawk going after birds and never personally seen an entire flock hitting the ground, I suppose it is possible. Just boring.

reply to post by Illusionsaregrander


I doubt the whole flock hit the deck, just a few unlucky ones.

It might be fun to speculate, but it serves no purpose. This site is supposed to be informative and about denying ignorance. Speculating "for fun", as you put it, is the opposite of denying ignorance.

There might not be "interviews" with any surving starlings (how absurd) but there are interviews with both eye witnesses and the Animal Welfare Officer who investigated.

I'm sorry if I seem to be anal about this, but I cannot stand blatant stupidity. I am an engineer by trade and make my daily bread through critical thinking and analysis.

reply to post by stumason


All the more reason to lighten up now and again Stu. I love logic and critical thinking as much as anyone. But everything in moderation. This isnt of earthshaking importance. (Unless it IS a cloaked UFO, or entire FLEET of UFO's poised for attack! ) Its a flock of birds, who bit the big one, and ended up on someones lawn.

I think a little creative thinking here is perfectly acceptable.

Originally posted by stumason

"They appeared to be in good condition other than injuries that they appear to have suffered when they hit they ground.

Possible alternative.... truck mounted Starling zapper, after all since poisons and shooting are out as far as culling populations, enter the invisible small truck mounted microwave, keep it all quite and zap as appropriate.

reply to post by Illusionsaregrander


Haha, that would be fine if i got the impression people were having a laugh. I don't get that in this thread and I really think they believe the outlandish things they claim..

Anyhoo, I've done all I can. If people wish to go through their lives thinking that invisible UFO's are getting in the way of starlings, then there isn't much else I can do, aside from giving them a slap round the back of the head with a brick.

Originally posted by Wobbly Anomaly
100 birds in an area 12ft across. I think with this bit of info (if it is correct) tells us that the birds were not flying either fast or at any significant height or else they would have been scattered across a larger debris field (think forward motion as they fall). Or they were flying upwards or downwards.

It sounds as though there was a 'clump' of birds that fell straight down....or fell from a very low height. Starlings not only flock together, they settle together too so maybe this clump was on an overhead wire or in a nearby tree when they were zapped with....well we might as well call it a death ray until we find out what it was.

Id definitely say low level incident (it was cetainly low level at the end !)

Hhmm.

Yeah, it kind of rules out a gas pocket -- because the creatures would die at different rates -- scattering them.

Either they passed through a "sonic boom" which might explode their little hearts with the shockwave, or they may have passed through a microwave energy transmission test. Does anyone know if there is some project in the area?

One day, we may have satellites beaming energy from solar collectors in space -- most likely for projects around a moon base. So any beam tower that was low, would probably have enough energy to explode birds passing through -- kind of like a SUPER hot microwave, that would make water go right to steam, rather than even have time to get hot.

>> it's fun to speculate.

Breaking news brick just falls from sky and hits englishman on back of head.

No evidence of toxins, ufo's, or wonder woman, experts baffled...

I was reading somewhere that starlings occurred naturally in the old world maybe this shows the death of the old world and the birth of a new world

reply to post by stumason

I sure would hate to beat a dead horse, especially over a flock of dead birds but this needs to be cleared up. First of all, I in no way ever even hinted at a cloaked UFO or anything unreasonable as you are suggesting. When I first suggested microwaves, you replied with some non-sense about secret military radar equipment and HAARP, just as you are now trying to attribute cloaked UFOs to my more than reasonable theory. It's pretty simple really, microwave commo equipment is not really secret, nor clandestine and it has nothing to do with HAARP or cloaked objects, thus my original response to you.

The probability of a flock of Starlings hitting the ground while taking evasive measures is extremely low because for one, Starlings pick up altitude for evasive measures as it adds more options to maneuverability and signals nearby flocks to join in with the targeted flock. Could it have happened? Sure, but the probability is far less likely than microwaves because that would mean that the birds were acting very unusual and acting outside their instinctual behaviors. You would then have to ask, "what made them lose their instinctual behaviors?". Also, the injuries sustained by the birds, sound exactly like what would happen after being washed with a beam of microwaves. Blood oozing from the beaks and curled claws, fit perfectly with what you would expect to see in birds that have been affected by microwaves. The microwaves would cause muscles to tighten, as in their claws curling and the microwaves would also cause organs to burst, thereby causing bleeding out of the nearest orifice. Had they all died due to blunt force trauma from smacking the ground, the birds would all have varying degrees of injuries and not uniform symptoms. It is not unlikely that these birds flew through some microwave projection, whether intentional or not, causing a small portion of the flock (100 birds) to quickly drop from the sky. It is however unlikely that this flock of Starlings lost both their survival and flight instincts at the same time to crash into the ground while undertaking evasive measures to escape a predator.

Again, I have mentioned nothing of UFO cloaking, HAARP, any secret and clandestine military technology or anything that is not highly probable or unreasonable. No conjecture, only reason and logic to explain a pretty benign incident.