In Beebe, Arkansas, fireworks set off on Saturday night to blast in the first day of 2012 apparently "spooked blackbirds" out of their nests and niches and sent them colliding into each other. And how do they know this? The residents of Beebe experienced a rain of necrotic aviary as the fireworks were going off, prompting local officers to ban the setting-off of any further explosions. Read the Associated Press' report here ("also" because the same thing happened on New Year's Eve last year in the same location).
And as long as we're talking about dead organisms appearing on people's doorsteps: did you read about Cleveleys, England, being plastered with a generous smear of dead algal froth? It's an annual phenomenon, too, but unlike the damnation of Beebe, the extent of human intervention is unknown. The seaside town receives the blessing each year after tides and oceanic winds churn up dead algae from the sea floor and carry them toward coasts.
On a separate note, I found the io9 coverage of the Beebe story to have ended on an insensitive note.
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