Or should I say “damned” Arkansas town. Last year, Beebe, Arkansas experienced a massive blackbird die-off that captured a perplexed populace’s attention. The deaths were later chalked up to confused birds colliding as fireworks went off. This year, blackbirds once again rained from the sky, showering the citizens of Beebe with a necrotic avian rain. Explains AP:
https://gizmodo.com/over-a-thousand-dead-black-birds-rain-down-on-arkansas-5722794
https://gizmodo.com/why-are-thousands-of-dead-birds-suddenly-falling-from-t-5725175
https://gizmodo.com/national-wildlife-health-center-determines-cause-of-bla-5727758
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.”
Happy 2012, everybody! Who’s ready for a solid 366 days of every deceased marmot, dyspeptic toucan, and farting narwhal being interpreted as a sign of an eschatological meltdown? 2012 is a leap year, after all!
Hat tip to Jon. Painting by Viktor Vasnetsov, but know that I almost used a still from Manowar’s “Gloves of Metal” music video.
