Bird Mortality after Spraying for Dutch Elm Disease with DDT

@article{Wurster1965BirdMA,
  title={Bird Mortality after Spraying for Dutch Elm Disease with DDT},
  author={Charles F. Wurster and Doris H. Wurster and Walter N. Strickland},
  journal={Science},
  year={1965},
  volume={148},
  pages={90 - 91}
}
In Hanover, New Hampshire, where elms were sprayed with DDT, 151 dead birds were found; 10 dead birds were found in Norwich, Vermont, where no DDT was used. Chemical analyses of dead birds, observation of symptoms of DDT poisoning, and a population decline after spraying all indicate severe mortality among certain species in Hanover. 
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Bird Mortality Following DDT Spray for Dutch Elm Disease
TLDR
Feeding habits suggest that some birds acquired the toxicant by eating living insects carrying DDT, presenting the paradox of survival of the intended DDT victims, and death, instead, of insectivorous birds.
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Certain arboreal bird species have benefitted in the short term from Dutch elm disease, though others appear to have suffered. This review of nest record and census data attempts to assess the impact…
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TLDR
High concentrations of DDT in soil of an extensive salt marsh on the south shore of Long Island suggest that many natural populations in this area are now being affected, possibly limited, by DDT residues.
Pesticides and Bird Populations
This chapter reviews the principal impacts upon bird populations of the uses of biocidal chemicals. Of necessity, the coverage is restricted to those areas of the world for which sufficient…
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TLDR
Populations of the wood-hoopoe and chat declined over 2-3 years in sprayed areas by about 90%, but no differences attributable to spraying were detected in the other species, and DDT residue concentrations 1-3 months after treatment reflected feeding site more than diet.
DDT residues in robins and earthworms associated with contaminated forest soils.
Residue analysis of forest soils sprayed once at 1 lb/acre showed little breakdown of DDT through 9 years after application. In the absence of appreciable downward trend, residue persistence could…
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It may be some years before diclofenac is removed from the vultures' food supply, and captive populations of three vulture species have been established to provide sources of birds for future reintroduction programmes.
Effects of DDT treatments applied for tsetse fly control on White-headed Black Chat (Thamnolaea arnoti) populations in Zimbabwe. Part II: cause of decline
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It is concluded that DDT spraying did not reduce availability of prey or fledging success, and initial population decline in sprayed areas was due to a lethal accumulation of DDT residues from prey, especially Camponotus spp.
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