Poisoning, disease not suspected; witness saw car drive into
flock
SEYMOUR — The Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency is still
trying to determine what caused dozens of birds to die along Boyd’s Creek
Highway Sunday afternoon, but at least one man who lives along the road said he
saw how it happened.
The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office started getting calls at
about 1:15 p.m. about the bodies of birds lying in one lane of the highway.
Bodies of the birds, which appeared to be starlings, lined the road and the
area alongside it.
TWRA wildlife agent David Sexton said Monday he went to the
scene Sunday afternoon and collected several bodies to send for examination and
to try to determine the cause of death.
“There were a lot of dead birds under a power line,” he
said.
Knoxville Utility Board provides power in the area, but
Sexton said officials there had no evidence there had been a power surge or any
other activity in that area at the time of the event.
There were no signs of physical trauma on the birds other
than those that appeared to have been struck by cars after falling, he said,
and he said he didn’t believe the deaths were caused by disease or poisoning
because so many of them died at one time.
However, he said he wouldn’t speculate on what caused the
deaths until he heard findings from the veterinarians who will examine the
bodies he sent off for analysis.
Meanwhile, a man who lives along Boyd’s Creek highway says
he saw the birds get struck by a car.
Harold Truitt said he was looking out at the road when he
saw a large flock of birds swooping down in front of his house.
“I was sitting in my den and just happened to look at the
window and saw there was birds,” he said. “It looked dark there were so many
swirling around out there, and a car ran right through them.
“It was a white car and you could hear the birds hitting
it.”
The car kept going, he said, but when he went outside he saw
the bodies along the road and on the ground alongside it.
The rest of the flock flew away as soon as the car went
through them, he said.
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