50 birds die on one street in California suburb, wildlife officials suggest foul play

A vicinity successful a occidental California suburb is demanding answers aft a drawstring of birds were recovered dead.

Residents of Richmond, California, told ABC affiliate KGO that they person seen implicit 50 birds autumn dormant since February from a circumstantial agelong of powerfulness enactment connected Bernhard Avenue successful the East Bay city.

"It sounded similar a firecracker, and a achromatic bird-a starling-just plummeted to the ground," Mark Hoehner, a nonmigratory and witnesser to 1 of the incidents, told the TV station. "I've been nether the birds erstwhile it happens, and I cognize wherever the dependable is coming from. It's coming from up connected the pole."

USA TODAY contacted Hoehner and different residents successful the country connected May 14 but has not received a response.

Home information footage published by the KGO shows a vertebrate falling from the powerline aft a pop, starring immoderate residents to suggest that the deaths were caused by powerlines successful the area.

However, a uncovering from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife offers different explanation: foul play.

Lab introspection suggests birds were shot

Following the neighborhood's reports of dormant birds, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Health Lab received and performed evaluations connected 2 of the birds recovered successful the area, according to a connection provided to USA TODAY.

The birds, a Mourning dove and European starling, were collected by the operators of the powerfulness line, PG&E, who said successful a connection to KGO that the instrumentality astatine the halfway of the vertebrate contention met avian information standards. USA TODAY reached retired to PG&E but did not person a response.

In the wildlife official's statement, the laboratory said it recovered that the examined birds showed nary motion of electrocution, but did contiguous "injuries accordant with trauma that could perchance person been caused by pellet gun, BB weapon oregon a slingshot."

The laboratory further said that photos of different dormant birds successful the country showed injuries accordant with trauma, but the nonstop quality of that trauma could not beryllium determined. Officers are present investigating the birds' deaths.

Richmond residents unconvinced of vertebrate decease cause, request answers

Despite the findings, Richmond residents told KGO that they were unconvinced.

"I consciousness similar a BB weapon doesn't marque a firecracker noise," Heather Jones said. "This sounds precisely similar a firecracker."

Maximilian Bolling, different resident, told KGO that helium wants the occupation ended, nary substance the cause.

"It's precise traumatic," Bolling said. "We conscionable privation it solved astatine the extremity of the day."

This nonfiction primitively appeared connected USA TODAY: Answers demanded aft 50 birds dice connected thoroughfare successful California suburb