Birds Drop Like Flies in Tennessee

June 11, 2003
By: Robert Moore, Tribune Staff Writer

State and federal wildlife officials are attempting to determine what caused the death of approximately 60 birds in and around Frank Lorino Park Tuesday.

Craig Price, Morristown Parks and Recreation Department director, speculated this morning that insecticide could be responsible for the mass bird kill.

Price says the birds, most of which were common grackles, could have been in a corn or tobacco field where farmers were spraying for insects.

As a precautionary measure, Frank Lorino Park, including the tennis clinic scheduled for this evening, will be closed today. Price says it is unclear if the park will be closed for additional days.

Pete Wyatt, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency agent heading up the state investigation, could not be reached this morning for comment on the cause of the bird deaths.

Because the birds literally fell from the trees and expired on the ground in such a localized area over such a short time period, Price says the West Nile virus is not
considered to be a likely cause of death.

The common grackle is one of the 138 bird species known to carry the West Nile virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Health officials shipped some of the dead birds to Knoxville to attempt to determine what caused the mass kill.

Price says park maintenance crews first reported the dead
birds around 3 p.m.

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