The quick and cheap in the field examination is to check the breasts for how much they have for fat reserves. If all of the swallows have none that would be an important clue as to cause of death.

Larry Schwitters
Issaquah
On Oct 1, 2013, at 7:11 AM, Wayne Weber wrote:

> Tweeters,
>
> I suspect that Sherry is correct and that the cause of the swallow mortality is starvation. However, in cases like this where large numbers of dead birds are found, some of the dead birds should ALWAYS be taken to a facility where autopsies can be done and the cause of death determined. I am sure that officials with WDFW or the US Fish & Wildlife Service could help in recommending a facility where autopsies could be done.
>
> There have been numerous incidents in the Pacific Northwest where mass mortality of birds has been caused by pesticide applications or by diseases such as botulism, aspergillosis, or salmonella outbreaks. Although this seems unlikely with swallows, post-mortem investigations should be done to ensure that infectious diseases or poisoning are not the cause of the mortality. Speculation will not answer the question of why the birds died.
>
> Wayne C. Weber
> Delta, BC
> contopus at telus.net
>
>
>
> From: tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu [mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Sherry Hagen
> Sent: September-30-13 10:23 PM
> To: tweeters message
> Subject: [Tweeters] Dying Swallows in the Ridgefield area
>
> Since I wrote about the 10 Barn Swallows found dead earlier this evening, I have learned about 58 Barn and Violet-Green Swallows found dead around the Plank House at the Ridgefield NWR and another 2 dozen young Tree Swallows found dead near Green Lake where the Barn Swallows were found. The weather the past few days and last night must have played havoc on the food supply and migration of the swallows.
>
> Sherry Hagen
> Vancouver, WA
> littlebirder at comcast.net
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