
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, December 12, 1993                   TAG: 9312120042
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: VERONA                                LENGTH: Medium

BIRD DEATHS APPARENTLY A PLANNED POISONING

The deaths of more than 70 birds at two Interstate 81 rest stops near Verona last week were the result of a planned, legal bird poisoning at a nearby farm, said an agriculture department official.

The birds apparently flew from the farm to the northbound and southbound rest areas and died, said Toni Radler, spokeswoman for the state Department of Agriculture.

Starlicide poison was used to kill the birds, Radler said Friday. The farmer applied the pesticide Monday and the dead birds were discovered Wednesday.

Some of the dead birds found at the rest areas were taken to the Wildlife Center of Virginia in Weyers Cave. An autopsy conducted at the center on a cowbird led to speculation that the deaths resulted from the ingestion of antifreeze that leaked from automobile radiators.

Al Bourgeois, biologist for the state's department of Game and Inland Fisheries, said Friday that results of the autopsies of the birds were not complete. But Bourgeois said it is now believed that the birds came from a legal bird kill zone.

The sight of so many dead birds resulted in a number of precautionary measures by the Virginia Department of Transportation that included a call for assistance from a hazardous material team and the temporary closure of both rest areas near Verona so the kill could be investigated.

Radler said the use of Starlicide is permitted only under very controlled conditions, and that the farmer used the poison legally to protect his grain. Radler declined to identify the farmer.

The law requires that the application of Starlicide be done by someone certified in the use of pesticides and with a permit from the agriculture department.

No public notice or posting is required before the poison is used, Radler said.

The number of bird kills usually increases this time of year because the nuisance birds are migrating south and feed in farm fields, she said. The eradication of nuisance birds is part of the department's efforts to protect farms, Radler said.

by CNB