Thousands of confused water fowl
Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2011 8:57 am
Cedar City . The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources office in Cedar City had thousands of dead, injured and confused Eared Grebes on its hands after the migrating birds crash-landed in the southcentral Utah community.
DWR spokeswoman Amy Canning confirmed that a large flock of the water fowl plunged from the skies Monday night. An estimated 1,500 birds died after hitting the parking lot of a Walmart store and other open areas of the city.
"These Eared Grebes were migrating south, as they usually do this time of year, but this time it was during a storm. We’re thinking they mistook the glistening of the [Walmart] parking lot for a lake," Canning said Wednesday. "Thousands of the birds went down [and] some were killed, but we also rescued a bunch. Citizens were bringing them in from all over Cedar City."