Tourists flock to Arkansas to see dead birds
Most visitors who find their way to tiny Beebe, Arkansas are on their way to Little Rock, where the most popular attractions may be the Arkansas Museum of Discovery and the Presidential Library of former US President Bill Clinton. But some tourists are coming for a new attraction: the birds, or the dead birds.
Thousands of dead red-winged blackbirds fell from the sky on New Year’s Eve after massive trauma, perhaps as many as the number of people living in Beebe: 4,500.
“The birds suffered from acute physical trauma leading to internal hemorrhage and death,” the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission said in a statement. “There was no sign of chronic or infectious disease.”
Scientists believe that fireworks appeared to have frightened the birds into such a frenzy that they crashed into homes, cars and each other. Some may have flown straight into the ground.
“Loud noises were reported shortly before the birds began to fall from the sky,” the commission’s statement said, adding that blackbirds seldom fly at night.
“The blackbirds were flying at rooftop level instead of treetop level” to avoid explosions above, according to Karen Rowe, an ornithologist with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
“Blackbirds have poor eyesight, and they started colliding with things.”
That was enough of a mystery but the commission is also trying to determine what caused the deaths of up to 100,000 fish over a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River near Ozark, about 125 miles west of Beebe.
Officials suspect disease killed the drum fish, and note that while fish die-offs aren’t unusual, the size of this one is. Officials hope the phenomenon isn’t the result of pollution or toxins.
“The fish kill only affected one species of fish,” an official tells CNN. “If it was from a pollutant, it would have affected all of the fish.”
By David Wilkening, TravelMole USA
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
In Italy, the Meloni government congratulates itself for its tourism achievements