Hi All, 

This is off topic and extralimital, but the news about birds falling out of the sky keeps coming from various places - so I thought some might like to see this, from Pro-Med list. 

Joanne

Joanne Howl, DVM

West River, MD


DIE-OFF, AVIAN - USA: (SOUTH DAKOTA, COLORADO), DRC-1339 POISON
********************************************************
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In this posting:
[1] South Dakota: starlings
[2] Colorado: blackbirds, starlings

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[1] South Dakota: starlings
Date: Wed 19 Jan 2011
Source: Yankton Press & Dakotan [edited]
<http://www.yankton.net/articles/2011/01/19/community/doc4d36568a9e0bf182406588.txt>


Local officials said Tuesday [18 Jan 2011] that a poison that poses
no risk to humans or pets is believed to be the cause of a large bird
die-off in Yankton, [South Dakota]. More than 300 dead starlings have
been found in downtown Yankton since Monday [17 Jan 2011] morning.

In an interview with the Press & Dakotan, wildlife biologist Ricky
Woods confirmed that he was involved with dispersing DRC-1339 at a
cattle feedlot in Nebraska about 10 miles (16 km) south of Yankton. He
is with the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspections Service (APHIS)
Wildlife Services (WS) and is based in Lincoln, Nebraska. He said
starlings at the livestock facility were targeted for eradication when
the poison was put out Thursday [13 Jan 2011]. "(The feedlot owners)
had a significant number of birds on their property consuming feed and
causing issues with their fecal matter," Woods stated. "They contacted
us. We came in and checked out the area. We then used a poison that is
specific only to birds."

Besides starlings, DRC-1339 - which can only be sold to government
agencies and qualified pest control officers - is also effective on
birds such as crows and blackbirds. It does not affect birds of prey
that may eat the poisoned animals. The pesticide impairs liver and
kidney functions, and death apparently results from uremic poisoning,
or the accumulation of waste products in the body. Death appears to be
painless and usually occurs within three days of consuming the
poison.

Woods said starlings are practically the only birds left at feedlots
this time of year. Additionally, because they are very aggressive,
they will beat other birds to the poison. Before federal officials put
out DRC-1339, they put out a pre-bait to make sure only the target
birds will be affected. It is a service the USDA will provide to
livestock owners if requested and the situation warrants it, Woods
explained.
"They basically have to be suffering property damage or losing a
significant amount of money," he said. "There has to be some sort of
hardship before we'll come in and do any reduction."

The bird deaths 10 miles (16 km) away in Yankton are a unique
occurrence, Woods stated. "We've done reductions at this (feedlot) in
previous years and the birds didn't make it that far," he said. "It's
kind of surprising they made it that far, but it's not completely out
of the realm." The birds were found around trees, some remained
clinging to the trees.

Woods reassured people that there is no danger in picking up the
birds with rubber gloves or a plastic sack and throwing them in a
dumpster. He also offered to make arrangements to have bird corpses
collected. "Basically, by the time the birds die, there is no poison
left in their system. So if somebody were to handle the birds, or
their cat or dog were to grab one, there would be no issues," Woods
said. "If you're capable of picking them up and getting rid of them,
pick them up and get rid of them. Otherwise, I will make other
arrangements."

[Byline: Nathan Johnson]

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******
[2] Colorado: blackbirds, starlings
Date: Thu 20 Jan 2011
Source: CBS4 Denver [edited]
<http://www.kktv.com/news/headlines/Solved_Dead_Birds_Mystery_In_Dacono_114319109.html>


The curious mystery of why dozens of blackbirds turned up dead
Wednesday [19 Jan 2011] on the lot of a front range Ford dealer has
been solved. "We did an application of pesticides to control starlings
in that area," explained Michael Yeary, State Director of Wildlife
Services for APHIS, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of
the US Department of Agriculture. Yeary said his crew responded to a
complaint from a dairy some 4.5 to 5 miles (6.5-8 km) from the car
dealership. Apparently a flock of starlings, estimated at 3000 birds,
was consuming feed at the dairy and contaminating the area with
droppings.

"This is rather common actually," said Colorado Division of Wildlife
spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill. She said starlings can be such a
nuisance that they are legally hunted year round in the state, with no
limit. "Some people consider them [correctly] an invasive species and
they can cause a lot of property damage, especially during the
winter," said Churchill.

European Starlings are non-native. They arrived in the United States
more than a century ago and quickly expanded their range coast to
coast. Yeary said his department is authorized to help agricultural
producers like dairies and feedlots who run into problems with
starlings. Yeary said no predators or pets were ever threatened by the
control measures. He explained efforts were taken to make sure only
starlings, and no other birds, were killed with the EPA approved
pesticide.

The woman who photographed the carcasses and alerted the news media
is okay with his explanation. "I think if we're [sic] overpopulated we
have to do what we have to do," said Stacia Shane, an employee at the
Ford dealer. She just wishes there was some advance warning that
dozens of dead starlings would be littering her work place.

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[DRC-1339 is a commonly used poison for the control of pest birds,
especially starlings, in feedlots. In fact, its trade name is
"Starlicide". The mode of action of DRC-1339 in sensitive birds is
irreversible kidney and heart damage, with death normally occurring
after 1-3 days following ingestion. The lethal dose of DRC-1339 in
nonsensitive species is 10-100 times higher than in sensitive
species.

The APHIS Wildlife Services (WS) website provides the following
technical note on DRC-1339:

"DRC-1339 was developed as an avicide because of its differential
toxicity to animals. More acute avian toxicity data are available for
DRC-1339 than for any other pesticide used in the world: more than 40
species have been tested. DRC-1339 is highly toxic to most sensitive
bird species (LD's range from 1 to 10 mg/kg), allowing a toxic dose to
be placed on a single bait. But it is only slightly to moderately
toxic to many nonsensitive birds, most predatory birds, and most
mammals (LD's [lethal doses] range from 100 to 1000 mg/kg). Some
species, including waterfowl and gallinaceous birds, are intermediate
in sensitivity to DRC-1339 (LD's range from 10 to 100 mg/kg). Most
bird species that are sometimes pests, including starlings, pigeons,
blackbirds, crows, and magpies, are sensitive to DRC-1339. Many other
bird species, such as raptors and some small granivores

[seed-eaters] are classified as nonsensitive. Known exceptions are
owls and felines, with LD's of about 5 mg/kg placing them in the
sensitive category.

"NWRC (National Wildlife Research Center) and WS Operations have been
monitoring the use of all DRC-1339 products since 1968. There have
been no documented secondary poisonings of mammalian or avian
scavengers or predators with DRC-1339, except for a crow that may have
scavenged the gut contents of a recently treated pigeon. NWRC has
conducted long-term feeding studies where birds poisoned by DRC-1339
were collected and fed to raptors and scavenger mammals for 30 to more
than 200 days. No symptoms of poisoning or mortalities occurred."
(see
<http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1735&context=icwdm_usdanwrc>).
Further information about DRC-1339 can be found in the APHIS website
at <http://www.aphis.usda.gov>.

As the public has become increasingly aware of animal deaths since
the spate of incidents on New Year's Eve (31 Dec 2010 -- see ProMED
archives below), any reports of mass die-off in wild animals has
become international news. But actually the use of DRC-1339 for the
control of pest birds is very common and widespread in the USA. The
2009 annual report of the Wildlife Damage Management from the USDA
APHIS Wildlife Services shows the culling of the following birds:
1 259 716 starlings
1 046 120 brown-headed cowbirds
96 297 pigeons
93 210 common grackles

The complete details of the methods used and species affected from
the USDA APHIS control of wildlife damage management in 2009 can be
found at

<http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/prog_data/2009_prog_data/PDR_G_FY09/Basic_Tables_PDR_G/Table_G_FY2009_Short.pdf>
and
<http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/prog_data/2009_prog_data/PDR_G_FY09/Basic_Tables_PDR_G/Table_G_FY2009_Long_Method_Featured.pdf>

With over 2 million birds poisoned each year, having some of the
baited birds flying away from the feedlots to die in public areas is
not unexpected. While current knowledge has shown DRC-1339 to be
relatively safe, we hope that with increased public interest and
reporting, any previously unknown consequence or secondary side
effects of DRC-1339 to non-target species will be reported and
thoroughly investigated.

Maps
South Dakota:
<http://healthmap.org/r/0oaj>.
Colorado:
<http://healthmap.org/r/0oak>. - Mod.KL

Photos
Blackbird (_Turdus merula_):
<http://www.digital-nature-photography.com/nature/showeng.php?id=GR10/GRAM060204-5917&info=Amsel>
and
<http://www.wildanimalsonline.com/birds/blackbird.php>.
European starling (_Sturnus vulgaris_):
<http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/european_starling/id>. -
Sr.Tech.Ed.MJ]