Mystery Of Upstate Bird Kill Solved - Greenville News Story - WYFF Greenville
For a time Wednesday morning, it appeared that the Upstate might have its own mysterious bird kill.
About 50 European starlings were found dead along Highway 101 near Brookshire Road in Greer.
Gary Wilson, with the Department of Natural Resources, said that nothing indicated any kind of chemical exposure that would have affected the birds.
The DNR gathered some of the dead birds to take them to the chief biologist for further study, but early on, why the birds died was unknown.
Edward Morrison was driving to work Wednesday morning when he noticed the bird carcasses on the highway.
"It was very freaky," Morrison told News 4's Myra Ruiz. "Realizing that there are no power lines or fireworks that could be going off here, it set off an alarm."
Then on Wednesday afternoon, the Greer Police Department confirmed that officers had taken an accident report on Monday afternoon from a truck driver who said he had struck a flock of birds at that location, though the report indicated that he thought they were geese.
Travis Davis said he was heading south Monday afternoon on Highway 101 when he saw a flock of what he thought were geese above the northbound lanes. Davis said the birds suddenly changed direction to avoid an oncoming truck, but then crashed into his Dodge.
"It was a big mess. Some of the birds were stuck in the grille," Davis told WYFF. "It sounded like I was getting hit by golf balls. I'm glad I didn't have the windows down."