Possibly poisoned? Dozens of birds found injured, dying in Leland

LELAND, NC (WWAY) — A local animal rescue is looking into what has killed dozens of birds in the Leland area.

SkyWatch Bird Rescue says 12 grackles were dropped off at their facility Sunday night for urgent care.

“This is a very unusual intake so we suspected that where they came from, there may be more,” the rescue wrote on their Facebook.

Volunteers went out on Monday to search the area and found dozens more in the areas of McDonald’s, KFC, Taco Bell, and in the parking lot of Piggly Wiggly in Leland.

“These birds tend to scavenge parking lots in flocks,” the rescue wrote.

According to SkyWatch, many were already dead or nearly dead.

“Some were dying but still mobile enough to be in the trees making small movements,” their post stated. “Every now and then one would fall from the tree and not be able to move, other than blinking. None of the birds were savable, they were already dying, died in our hands as we carried them to the car, or died during transport. Only four are still alive at the clinic.”

By considering many factors, like the isolated area and species affected, the rescue says there is speculation they may be affected by a toxin or poison.

“It’s too soon to say what the cause was but there’s always a concern of other animals eating these dead birds and getting affected secondarily,” the rescue wrote. “We found some birds had already been eaten by feral cats in the wooded area near a tree where many birds fell from. Some birds were hiding by bushes and under cars, some were laying on rooftops. We anticipate more birds will become grounded soon so over the next few days we are making an effort to send volunteers to search & collect more birds to make the area safer.”

If you find any dead birds you are asked to not touch them with your bare hands. They should be bagged in plastic bags using gloves. You should call Skywatch’s hotline at (855) 407-3728 and leave a message to report sightings of dead or dying birds.

Regional wildlife biologists are collecting specimens for further testing. Specimens have also been sent off the NC State vet lab for testing, and all state officials are aware of the situation.