Dead blackbird
© WaffDead blackbird

More dead birds are found, this time in a suburban Scottsboro neighborhood.

A sample of 15 birds was sent to Auburn University. The remainder were picked up and discarded. Officials say this could just be something that happens naturally in nature.

It was Monday afternoon around 1:00pm along Morning Glory and Golden Rod Drives that the dead blackbirds were found. Many dead blackbirds.
"We estimate between 50 and 100," said Jackson County Emergency Management Agency Director Victor Manning.

Manning was called to the scene. He says the birds were found all along a tree line. "It appeared that they were in the tree. It did not appear to be an instance where they were flying and fell out of the air," said Manning.

"These dead birds findings have occurred for years. This is not a new event," said Winfred Cotten, environmental supervisor with the Jackson County Health Department.

Cotten says many birds found dead is a naturally occurring thing.

Something, for the most part, the public should not be concerned about.

"It's not a public health concern that they're dead birds out there," said Cotten.

Officials say if you spot a large number of dead birds you should first contact the Alabama Conservation Department or their local office.

After a sample is taken, Cotten says people should discard them but avoid having personal contact with them.

"If you have a pair of good rubber gloves, you'll pick them up and put them in a garbage bag and you put them in your garbage can," said Cotten.

The birds will be tested, but USDA officials say it is only to see if they died from a public health concern.

Frank Boyd with USDA Wildlife Services says birds can die from many things including eating bad grain they find or from cold weather stress.