A Walmart parking lot in Cedar City, Utah was the site of mass carnage when thousands of birds crashed into the pavement Monday night, reports Brian Ahern at The Spectrum.
Wildlife officials believe that the flock of migrating Grebes, a duck-like aquatic bird, was confused by storm clouds that made the parking lot look like a flat body of water.
Though at least 1,500 birds perished in the crash-landing, rescue crews managed to save more than 2,000 birds as of late Tuesday and have been releasing them in a nearby pond, according to the AP.
"I've been here 15 years and this was the worst downing I've seen," Teresa Griffin, wildlife program manager for the Utah Department of Wildlife Resource's southern region, told The Spectrum. "Most of the downings I've seen have been pretty localized, but this was very widespread."
This is the parking lot where it happened.
