Migratory Birds Drop Dead in New Mexico: From Record Heat Waves to Wildfires, Reasons Why a Huge Number of These Birds Are Dying in a Mysterious Way

Death of a huge number of migratory birds in New Mexico has caused a wave of concern amongst the scientists who are analysing the reasons behind these migratory birds dying. These birds are dropping dead around New Mexico in the past few days in locations like the golf courses, driveways and hiking trails. This mysterious death of so many migratory birds poses as a major matter of concern as researchers try to get the nab of the reasons that are causing these birds in flight to drop dead. Wonderful Pics of Migratory Birds to Marvel At. 

As people began finding the dead migratory birds in, experts are studying the mysterious death. They are looking at various causes such as the wildfires, heatwave or the drought. The West coast heatwave may have a hand in these deaths with the heavily toxic smoke coming in the routes of these migratory birds. Researchers at universities in New Mexico are also analysing the recent cold snap in the Mountain West or the drought in the Southwest, if their that has depleted the insect populations that are a source of food for many migratory birds.

“I’ve never seen anything like this in New Mexico in recent times,” said Martha Desmond, a professor in New Mexico State University’s department of fish, wildlife and conservation ecology. One of the first alerts about the die-offs came on August 20, when a report described a sharp increase in dead birds found at the White Sands Missile Range in southern New Mexico, Dr. Desmond said. World Migratory Bird Day 2020 Date & Significance: Know More about This Year's Theme That Raises Awareness on Migration of Birds. 

Since then, Dr. Desmond and other researchers have fielded reports of dead migratory birds found in many parts of New Mexico, as well as in parts of Southern Colorado and West Texas. Dr. Desmond said the numbers of dead birds in the region could easily number in the hundreds of thousands.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 17, 2020 09:08 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).