Mystery Surrounds Dead Birds On Staten Island
December 31, 2007 by national
Filed under Incident Reports
Last week, dozens of dying birds fell to the ground in a Staten Island neighborhood, and officials say they don’t yet know what caused it. The dead birds have been sent for testing but findings have not yet been released.
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Residents and city officials say roughly 40 to 50 black birds were seen tumbling from the sky, flailing on the ground and expiring on a street near Great Kills Harbor around 3 p.m. Friday. Fire Department Battalion Chief John Giacella says firefighters arrived to find the creatures “floundering and foaming at the mouth.”
Some residents say they noticed a strong chemical smell around the same time. Authorities blocked off the street and advised residents to stay indoors for a time. But officials now say air-quality tests have found no hazards.
Sightings of dead birds in Staten Island’s Great Kills and Eltingville neighborhoods have continued through this morning.
Last week, the carcasses of dozens of the feathered animals were suddenly discovered around the intersection of Wiman and Sweetwater avenues. Now the latest sightings appear to be branching out further, from the other side of Hylan Boulevard.
Last night several dead birds were spotted in the Burger King parking lot on Richmond Avenue and Amboy Road, and the Advance received another report from that area this morning. This map shows where the dead birds have been found.
Last week, the bodies of birds were collected for testing, though the results could take weeks. The Health Department said there was nothing to suggest a risk to humans. Officials on the scene last week suspected ammonia fumes emanating from a nearby pile of mulch as the cause. Lately the official guess has leaned toward pesticide.
On Friday, dozens of birds fell out of the sky and died on a street in the Great Kills section of Staten Island. Residents grew concerned as, the Staten Island Advance reported, birds “flopped and twitched…as they breathed their last” (video here). One resident said the birds were flying “as if they were drunk” before falling to the ground.
Residents were advised to stay in their homes as the fire department, police and as well as other city agencies were on the scene, trying to determine why the birds were dying. Some residents returning home weren’t even allowed out of their cars for a while. The dead birds, either blackbirds or purple martins, were all around Wiman Avenue and Tennyson Drive.
