Millions of dead fish wash up in Norway

Updated to include link to 2012 Aflockalypse, birds dropping dead (again) in Beebe Ark.
Updated to note new article saying all the fish have mysteriously diappeared

2011 opened with masses of birds falling to the ground in Beebe Arkansas. That unexplained bird death event was followed by many others in the ensuing weeks. The same excuses were offered: maybe the fireworks scared them...maybe they were poisoned...maybe they got cold...maybe the upcoming avian necropsy tests will show something...

Then the weirdness turned to fish kills happening all over, and extended to starfish, seals, penguins and other aquatic life. The bird deaths was called "Aflockalypse" and a google map was soon created to keep track of all the unexplained deaths on sea and on land happening all over the world. Then it petered out. Just in time too, because the massive earthquake at Chile and at Christchurch happened which claimed our attention. Then March brought the triple whammy Japan catastrophic events of 9.0 quake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster. Nothing more was heard from January's Aflockalypse...until exactly one year later, on January 1, 2012 when it happened again.

I've been waiting to see, since the 2011 bird death event was accompanied by fish kills, if that also would happen again. And it has:

Norway: Overnight, the beach was full of dead herring (google translated)
"The inhabitants of resin in Troms could hardly believe his eyes on the morning of New Year's Eve, the beach was a large amount, an estimated tens of tons, dead herring, writes Northern Lights. No one knows for sure what's happened in the popular hiking area in Nordreisa municipality. However, various theories have been tossed around, explains Jan-Petter Jorgensen (44), who took mass death in sight on the beach with his dog Molly."

And once again, media is "puzzled"
Mass herring death puzzles officials, locals
"Several tons of dead herring that carpeted a beach in northern Norway have puzzled researchers and local residents, media reported Monday. Local resident Jan-Petter Jorgensen, who inspected the beach at Kvaenes in Nordreisa with his dog at the weekend, estimated there were several tons of fish."

And the same old excuses are offered, maybe there was not enough oxygen in the water, maybe a school of predators chased them in, maybe a storm happened...we're waiting test results...maybe that will show something...

And here we go again. Keep looking up!
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Thousands of Dead Birds Fall from Sky in Town For Second New Year's Eve in a Row

Updated to reflect thousands, not hundreds of birds confirmed
Updated again to include link to millions of dead fish washing up in Norway

Pretty spooky... remember aflockalypse last year? It's ba-ack!

Fox News reports-
Hundreds of Dead Birds Fall from Sky in Town For Second New Year's Eve in a Row
"Blackbirds have fallen dead from the sky in a central Arkansas town for the second New Year's Eve in a row. KATV showed a radar image that it said showed a large mass over Beebe a few hours before midnight Saturday. The Little Rock television station reported that hundreds of birds had died. Beebe animal control worker Hearst Taylor told KATV the reason for the bird deaths isn't yet known. Last year, fireworks were blamed for the deaths of thousands of birds. It wasn't immediately clear if year-end celebrations are again to blame. Beebe police imposed an impromptu fireworks ban Saturday night. Biologists said last year's kill was caused by the birds being rousted from their roosts and flying into homes, cars, telephone poles and each other."

ABC reports-
Dead Blackbirds Fall Again in Ark. Town
"Thousands of dead blackbirds rained down on a town in central Arkansas last New Year's Eve after revelers set off fireworks that spooked them from their roost, and officials were reporting a similar occurrence Saturday as 2012 approached. 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."

Little Rock THV-11 news video

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(UPDATE) Crow die-off in India reminds people of Aflockalpyse earlier this year

Originally published 12/12/11, I am updating to include another bird die-off: Thousands of grebes crash land in Wal-Mart parking lot in Utah, inexplicably. The article opens: "Authorities were shocked to find more than 4,000 birds scattered across a local Utah Wal-Mart parking lot on Monday night. According to CBS affiliate KUTV in Salt Lake City, Utah, witnesses claimed thousands of the creatures had crash-landed in the parking area. At least 1,500 Eared Grebes, a duck-like aquatic bird, which slammed into the pavement were dead. Fortunately, Utah Department of Wildlife Resource officials and volunteers were able to rescue up to 3,000 of the large flock." The article says that the birds mistook the parking lot for a body of water. Um. Sure... Wildlife biologists did say this has happened before but never to this degree, with thousands mistaking the parking lot for water.
-------end update-------------

When I heard of a spate of sudden bird deaths, with crows suddenly dropping dead to the ground, I made sure to look at the dateline. Was I having deja vu? I remember sudden avian deaths last year at this time. In late December /early January thousands of birds dropped dead in Beebe Arkansas. Experts initially thought that it was New Year's fireworks that caused the deaths. However those deaths were followed by mysterious deaths in Louisiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, then Turkey,  Manchester UK, and then many other parts of the world. By the end of the first week of January 2011, the event was known as "Aflockalypse" and was being reported by mainstream news. Reasons given were sudden cold spells, fireworks, or magnetism from a sunburst. Avian flu is always a go-to excuse as well. Yet none of the birds had been found to be diseased and the other offered reasons for their deaths seemed to ludicrous to most thinking people.

At that time, the die-offs extended then to fish, seals, and pelicans and throughout January and February people across the world were panicking at this unexplained event. Then the bird and animal die-offs dwindled away, the earthquakes of Christchurch and Japan happened, and the extreme weather of 2011 combined with staggering economic problems soon were at the forefront of people's minds for the remainder of the year. Now, the bird deaths are back. Perhaps this time it is Avian flu. Time will tell.

Two Indian media outlets are reporting a bird-die off in Hazaribagh, India. One is below from Telegraph India and the other is from Times of India reporting the same thing. I looked up the dateline and this is a current news story, not one that happened in the early part of this year's Aflockalypse. It may wind up to have an explanation, but the event still brings many people back 11 months to January 2011 and Aflockalypse, and there is once again, panic.

The Telegraph India reports today, "Crow deaths create panic"
"The mysterious epidemic that has claimed hundreds of crows in Jharkhand has now spread to Hazaribagh, with 350-odd scavengers perishing in Vishnugarh and Katkamsandi over the weekend, triggering panic among residents who have been advised by experts not to touch the carcasses. More than 1,000 crows have died in Jamshedpur alone in the past one and a half months, besides a number of deaths in Ghatshila and Giridih. According to villagers, the carcasses of around 250 crows have been spotted in the last two days on the premises of Ram Mandir in Vishnugarh. Mukhiya of Vishnugarh panchayat Arun Rajak said he had informed forest officials about the deaths. Forester Shiv Shankar Prasad suspected that the crows fell prey to avian flu. ... Sher Mohammad, a resident, feared it was an indication of something worse. “Villagers are in panic, seeing crows drop dead on the ground suddenly. We have spotted around 100 carcasses in various places so far,” he added."
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