SOUTH PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla.\u00a0(WINK) \u2014 When vultures start circling your neighborhood, you tend to have questions.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why neighbors along Chaves Circle in South Port Charlotte called WINK News after spotting hundreds of them overhead.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThere\u2019s at least two or 300,\u201d said Rosemary Parisi. \u201cThey’ve been flying overhead in my yard, and they’re starting to get invasive now \u2014 they’re landing on houses.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parisi says she\u2019s lived in the area for ten years and has never seen anything like this.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the 10 years that I’ve lived here, I never seen anything like this in my life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She first noticed the birds about a week ago. What started as a few quickly turned into a constant swarm overhead \u2014 circling during the day and packing into nearby trees at dusk.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was in the yard with my little chihuahuas, and I was afraid that maybe one might swoop down and pick my dog up,\u201d Parisi said.<\/p>\n
Just around the corner on Ohara Drive, another discovery may explain why.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThere\u2019s dead fish all over,\u201d said Charis Thomas, who lives along a canal. \u201cAnd these are huge fish, if you notice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas says she noticed the vultures first \u2014 then the fish.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt smells worse in the evenings.\u201d<\/p>\n
She says dead fish line the canal banks in the morning, and by afternoon many have been picked clean.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s bad. I really feel sad about it,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n
What FWC Says<\/p>\n
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) says this specific canal had not been previously reported to its Fish Kill Hotline.<\/p>\n
However, since February 1, 2026, FWC says its hotline has received more than 400 reports of fish kills across Florida \u2014 both freshwater and saltwater \u2014 that officials suspect are linked to recent low temperatures.<\/p>\n
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FWC says it anticipates more reports in the coming days as fish weakened by cold stress may die from secondary infections.<\/p>\n
The reported fish kills span multiple counties, including Lee and Collier, and involve a range of species such as snook, tarpon, pompano, snapper species, jack crevalle, sheepshead and even bonnethead sharks in saltwater areas. Freshwater reports include bluegill, largemouth bass and black crappie.<\/p>\n