Photo Source: Austin Statesman
AUSTIN, Texas Jan 8, 2007 (AP)— Police shut down 10 blocks of businesses in the heart of downtown Austin early Monday after dozens birds were found dead.
Experts were testing for any sort of environmental contaminant or gas or chlorine leaks that might have killed off the animals, police spokeswoman Toni Chovanetz said.
There were no reports of any humans harmed, but a 10-block stretch of the main north-south route through downtown, several side streets and all buildings in the area were blocked off and expected to remain off-limits until about noon, Chovanetz said.
The bird carcasses were found overnight along Congress Avenue between Sixth and Eighth streets.
The street closure Monday morning stretched from the front of the state Capitol to a section of the Colorado River known as Town Lake. The Capitol opened on schedule Monday, the day before the legislative session was to begin.
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Local news is reporting that Congress (from Cesar Chavez to 11th) will be closed until noon. This is basically a huge 10 block strip of road right in front of the Texas Capital building.
At this point, I see connection between this bird case and what is happening in Manhattan.
Conspiracy Theory lovers can go listen to Alex Jones for that crazy stuff...
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UPDATE - 12:30 PM CST - Local Health officials have stated that all on-site preliminary test were negative, air quality monitoring is currently in effect and a disease information watch is being conducting with local health facilities. However, at this time, there is no indication of unusual activities or findings. There appears to be no risk to the health of the public at this time. Everyone must remember that large groups of bird dead all the time, this is nature. But it is not very common in the middle of a major city. Congress is currently still closed, however it is expected to re-open very soon.
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UPDATE - 2:13PM CST - Austin Statesman is reporting that 63 birds have been found dead in the downtown area. Biological samples from the birds will be sent to laboratories at Texas A&M University and the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and that final lab results could be available within a week. Two police officers at the scene of the bird deaths reported feeling ill, said Christian Calisen, assistant director of Austin/Travis County Emergency Medical Services, but they turned out to be fine. Officials also worried that a homeless man who had been asleep in an alley adjacent to the Driskill Hotel might have been affected by whatever had killed the birds, Calisen said, but he also was unaffected by the incident. The incident caused a spike in reports of dead bird sightings to city officials, police said. Valadez asked that people call 311 to report dead birds in their neighborhoods or on their front lawns.
Sounds like it is turning into a circus. Use BugmeNot to read the full article.
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UPDATE - 3:05PM CST - Word around the campfire is that this a case of accidentally bird poisoning. Regardless, it is 100% legal to poison certain species of birds in the area. This was outlined in the Statesman article in the 2PM update. At this point, I won’t be doing anymore quick and dirty updates unless something huge is released.
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