Wildlife experts in New Mexico say birds in the region are dropping dead in alarming numbers, potentially in the "hundreds of thousands."

"It appears to be an unprecedented and a very large number," Martha Desmond, a professor at New Mexico State University's department of fish, wildlife, and conservation ecology, told NBC's Albuquerque affiliate KOB.

New Mexico residents have reported coming upon dead birds on hiking trails, missile ranges, and other locations.

In a video posted by Las Cruces Sun News, journalist Austin Fisher shows a cluster of dead birds he discovered while on a hike on September 13 in the state's northern Rio Arriba County.