Washington Post: "Dead birds, fish kills prompt doomsday theories, but scientists say they're natural."

Good piece in the Post about all of the media attention garnered by recent wildlife deaths. (How meta.)

I think that doomsday hysteria and speculation that causes panic instead of rational inquiry is irresponsible, but I think news reports about wildlife deaths are important because they expose people not only to natural science but to things that are happening beyond their own backyard or their own community.

Until this morning, I had no idea this had happened:


In March 1996, a blizzard hit the Platte River in Nebraska as more than half a million sandhill cranes nested at the peak of their migration. In the biggest known kill of the cranes, birds driven by high winds flew beak-first into trees and buildings during a failed attempt to outrace the blizzard. More than 2,000 died.

Poor cranes. They’re such big birds, I can’t begin to imagine the mayhem if a flock that size panicked. Or a flock any size. Big, big birds.

Bird crossing

My mom has several families (of non-migratory Sandhill Cranes) nesting in her neighborhood and they entertain me every day while they feast on frogs and lizards in her yard. I’ve mentioned those cranes here before because they’re endlessly amusing. They also scare me half to death on a regular basis when I open the curtains and find one on the other side of the glass staring in (or, more accurately, at it’s reflection). Wakes you up better than coffee.

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