15 December 2012, an oil company operating in Montana, Wyoming and Nebraska has admitted fault in the death of hundreds of migratory birds.
The Colorado based company, SM Energy, pled guilty to charges from the U.S. Attorney General: “These charges arose after a multi-year pattern of bird deaths at company sites, notification by the Fish and Wildlife Service, and failure of the defendant company’s subsidiary to take reasonable measures to make the hazardous sites bird-safe.”-Michael Cotter, U.S. attorney for Montana
The investigation revealed that birds were being killed by the oil company’s fluid pits, as far back as 2005. SM Energy is to pay a paltry $22,500 fine. Some of its subsidiaries have paid smaller fines. The money will go to the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund.
This perhaps explains years of mysterious bird deaths across the United States. The birds come into contact with deadly oil production wastes in the fluid pits, then fly off to die.
However, cases of new bird deaths are popping up, around the world.
02 December, local Texas media reporting dozens of dead birds in McKinney. They reported that the birds were bleeding from their mouths: “By our count there are close to 50 dead birds, mostly Grackles, Starlings and Pigeons.”-NBC 5
02 December, India media reporting the “sudden death” of 38 cranes from a possible new strain of avian flu. It happened in salt pans close to Victor village in Rajula range of Amreli district.
At the end of November, officials in Missouri are baffled by the death of 100 birds in a road of a Springfield neighborhood. Residents say some of the birds were still standing, yet none of the birds were found on grass or sidewalks. They noted they seemed to be avoiding the powerlines. One man claims he witnessed the deaths. He says for some reason the entire flock of birds flew in front of a red pick up truck. The pick up, and the vehicle behind, hit at least half the flock.
In October, 20 dead starlings were found outside a Saint Lawrence County, New York, home. Officials determined they were poisoned, but have yet to identify the poison.