Bird deaths due to heat and closure of bores

Thanks for the new links, to this story Fantail.
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Personally, I will wait for the testing results of water, before ruling out "heavy metal" contamination - something we have seen before in Esperance WA.
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Certainly some of these species, especially Budgies, are known for "population explosions", which inevitably lead to population collapses (large numbers of deaths). However, the connection in the second article to closure of water sources (freely flowing artesian bores) makes more sense than simply the "heat wave" part of the story.
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After all, they would need to establish that the heat this season so much worse than in other years that would trigger such enormous losses. But closing off water outlets which birds have been using could make such a difference that birds would die.
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It is well known that open artesian bores in central Australia have supported enormous populations of Camels, for example - more than could possibly have flourished without these man-made bores. But while people notice Camels, they might not notice the build up of large populations of small birds (as well).