[BC] Dousing (Tower) Lights to Save Birds

[Mike Vanhooser]

Towers are just an easy target.  The vast majority of the hand-wringers who complain about the "carnage" fail (deliberately) to point out that tower kill numbers, even if accurate (highly questionable), amount to only >> 0.006% << of annual bird mortality.  Over 80% are caused by buildings and cats, where is the "outrage" over this huge body count?

A point not raised or studied, what about LED sidelights?  The majority are not DC powered, but are strobed rapidly.  A swift flying bird would see this as multiple lights, not a steady burning one, unless flying directly at it.  Perhaps studies should be conducted to see if this doesn't lower collisions.

The whole thing, though, is much ado about nothing.  Birds do fly into towers and die, but the hysteria is totally unfounded.  Much like the "global warming" idiocy, where it is claimed that a trace increase of a trace gas will destroy the world.  Other ulterior motives are at work, not reality.

--- On Thu, 6/14/12, Mark Humphrey <mark3xy at gmail.com> wrote:

>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.