[BC] Dousing (Tower) Lights to Save Birds

[Mark Humphrey]

I've seen only two dead birds in 20 years of managing a 500 foot tower
with two levels of steady red lights.

Some published studies of bird kills near tall TV towers (particularly
the Channel 18 tower in Elmira, NY, not far from the Cornell Lab of
Ornithology) found occasional fatalities in the hundreds or thousands,
mainly during the fall migration on nights with foggy or low ceiling
conditions and northerly winds:

http://www.towerkill.com/reports/US/NYR/NYdata1a.html

http://www.towerkill.com/reports/US/NYR/xNY.html

But looking at the big picture, I would agree with most observers that
towers cause far fewer bird deaths than buildings, trees, power lines,
and natural predators working the usual routine.

IMHO, tall towers are a favorite target of bird clubs because these
structures are highly conspicuous (to humans) -- and also because the
bird carcasses are concentrated within a small radius, making them
easy to find.

Mark

On Thu, Jun 14, 2012 at 11:32 AM,  <donroden at hiwaay.net> wrote:
> Where are all these dead birds ?
>
> I've seen maybe 20 or so over 40 years of being under and around towers.
>
> There must be a tower somewhere that is knee-deep in dead birds.
>
> Don R