Officials Now Searching For Cause Of Bird Deaths

KXAN
Jan. 09, 2007

Congress Avenue is now open after being closed for nine hours after 63 dead birds were found in Downtown Austin.

A few of those birds were found alive and had awkward movements and the inability to fly.

Authorities said Monday that the birds don't pose a threat to public health.

"At this time, based on that preliminary evidence, we do not feel that there's a threat to the public health, but we do want to take every precaution necessary to ensure the public's safety," said Dr. Adolfo Valadez with Austin-Travis County Health and Human Services.

Congress Avenue and one block on either side of the street were shut down from Cesar Chavez to 11th Street. Most of the birds were concentrated around 9th Street.

"We recognize that many people were inconvenienced, but our primary mission here is about public safety," APD Asst. Chief David Carter said.

They still don't know what killed the birds. However, one bird has been sent to a lab in Ames, Iowa, to be tested for avian flu. Another bird is being sent to College Station, Texas, to determine whether it might have been poisoned. That said, KXAN has been told that officials don't believe that a bird flu was the likely cause of this incident Monday morning.

"Typically what we see in large bird die-offs is severe weather, actually -- strong winds, hail storms," Valadez said. "Obviously, poisoning can be a cause of that, deliberate poisoning from people finding birds a nuisance. And then other times, birds, just like people, can become ill and get certain diseases that can cause them to die. West Nile virus is probably the most common cause."

Valadez said there were 63 dead birds found. The dead birds included grackles, pigeons and sparrows.

What caused the grackles, pigeons and sparrows to drop dead is likely poisoning.

"Yeah, it sounds most like a poisoning if I had to guess, and I'm pretty sure that's what it's going to come out as," said Jacob Mireles, D.V.M. with the Brykerwood Vet Clinic.

"The preliminary test that were done include a gas chromatography of the exterior of the bird, looking for organo-phosphates or pesticides. That can also cause illness in humans. We also did necropsy or dissection of birds looking for further evidence of poisoning from that respect. Those were all preliminary results but negative," Valadez said.

The fire department was called out to the area around 3 a.m. on Monday to test if there had been a gas or chlorine leak, but nothing of that nature was found.

Several different groups are on the scene, including APD, AFD and the 6th Civil Support Team. That team supports local first-responders and helps determine the nature of an emergency situation.

Now after Congress Avenue was closed for nine hours, the question becomes, 'Was it really necessary to shut down the heart of the city because of these dead birds?" Those who made the call at City Hall say there really is no question.

"We're finding out now that we don't feel that there was anything there. There was no risk to public health, but you don't know that until you work your way through the investigation," Asst. City Manager Michael McDonald said.

These birds can be a nuisance to a lot of business owners and people downtown. If someone poisoned the birds, could that person be held liable for the costs associated with the emergency response?

The city's legal team told KXAN Monday they wouldn't answer that question until they know for sure what killed the birds.