Dead Birds Alarm Austin

 

Ten blocks of downtown Austin were shut down for several hours Monday morning after 63 birds were found dead in the street, though officials concluded after preliminary testing that there was no significant threat to people. While the blocks were closed off by the police in a cordoned-off section near the state Capital, workers in yellow hazardous-materials suits tested the dead grackles, sparrows and pigeons for environmental contaminants or gas or chlorine leaks that might have been the cause, explained police spokeswoman Toni Chovanetz.

The dead birds were found Sunday night along Congress Avenue, a busy street leading into downtown. Police shut off the downtown route with police cars and firetrucks. Butcher said that it could be days or weeks before a cause is determined, but officials do not believe bird flu is involved.