Most people wouldn't, but it's possible to make an Internet inquiry about how many birds there are living on the planet. The answer is an estimated 100-400 billion. In addition, according to Melanie Driscoll, a biologist and Director of Bird Conservation for the Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi Flyway for the National Audubon Society, about 5 billion of them die every year in the United States.
In spite of what my outdoor compatriots may tell you, I consider myself normal. I notice large flocks of blackbirds flying around in the autumn sky, so I assume other people do as well. In addition, there are birds flying all around us in the trees and bushes. They visit our feeders by the dozens. So, the other day, I was watching a large flight of geese fly over me in several V formations and I wondered ... why don't we ever see a bird fall out of the sky from a heart attack, stroke, or old age?
Oh, I know. You're going to tell me about the 2011 Beebe, Arkansas incident on New Years Eve when some 5000 blackbirds mysteriously fell out of the sky around 11 PM. Turns out the birds were apparently migrating over Beebe at the same time the city fathers set off the town's New Years Eve fireworks.
Its not that the city fathers bagged all 5000 blackbirds, but apparently, the shock waves from the blasts either knocked the birds unconscious or discombobulated the birds' sense of direction and attitude. In their attempts to come out of an explosive tail spin, they flew into wires, smoke stacks, towers, and tall buildings. I'm telling you this so when the sky lights up over Prentice N. Largefonte's camp on the opening day of grouse season, you'll know why.
Royal Dun
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