The mystery of Northern California’s ‘exploding’ birds is being solved

A recent spate of birds falling dead in one Bay Area neighborhood has turned into a homespun mystery after a resident claimed one exploded, neighbors blamed the local utility company and authorities had to go in to investigate.

In April, a resident reported multiple birds were possibly electrocuted by a power line in the unincorporated area of Richmond, northeast of San Francisco, according to the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office.

Resident Maximillian Bolling told KGO-TV he witnessed several birds die after perching on power lines and a resident’s doorbell camera captured footage of a bird falling after the sound of a loud pop.

“So when they land and it happens, they just quickly explode and it’s really violent,” Bolling said.

News of exploding birds travels fast, so local news outlets visited the neighborhood to investigate. Blurred photos from several outlets show dead birds on the ground, with their bodies intact. Residents said they’ve found 13 altogether in their neighborhood yards.

With residents pointing fingers at the local utility, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. sent workers into the neighborhood to check.

In a statement, the company said that it appreciated the community’s concern and that workers found several bird carcasses and sent two of them to the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Wildlife Health Lab for evaluation.

The results showed the birds were not electrocuted, the company said. One of the birds was a mourning dove and the other a European starling.

“The pole at issue is compliant with avian safe guidance, as established by the Avian Powerline Interaction Committee,” Matt Nauman, a PG&E spokesperson, said in a media statement.

The state agency echoed PG&E’s statement, saying, “The birds did show injuries consistent with trauma that could possibly have been caused by pellet gun, BB gun or a slingshot.”

Further tamping down the mystery of it all, the department also received photos of other birds at the location and those too showed signs consistent with trauma, said Krysten Kellum, regional spokesperson for the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The investigation into the bird deaths is still ongoing.