U.S. Bird Deaths by Building Collision, Underreported by Hundreds of Millions Per Year, New Research Reveals
(EnviroNews Nature) — The death toll for birds that crash into buildings has been vastly underestimated until now, according to new research. The study was published in the open access mega-journal PLOS One and it says wildlife agencies and organizations have been miscalculating the number of fatalities by hundreds of millions per year.
The peer-reviewed paper explains that previous research has only accounted for birds found dead or fatally wounded at the scene of the crash. However, scientists are now claiming many stunned survivors end up dying in veterinarian care or sustain serious injury, only to succumb to the elements or predation later.
“This heartbreaking study drives home how much more the Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) must do to truly protect vulnerable birds from window collisions,” Tara Zuardo, a senior campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity (the Center), wrote in a press release. “This is a national problem that requires national action. It’s time for federal officials to step up to protect our birds.”
Artificial light from buildings at night can be disorientating for birds leading to collisions, while daytime reflections of the sky can cause avians to fly into them as well. To make matters worse, the scientists believe territorial behavior in breeding season may contribute to rising incidents, as some species can react to perceived threats in window reflections.
According to New Scientist magazine, most accidents occur with low-rise buildings, and the problem has worsened in recent decades with increasing light pollution.
The new paper says previous studies examining building collisions were conducted on recovered carcasses of birds that died on impact. Older numbers were tallied on the notion that more than 80 percent of collisions were thought to be immediately fatal, but the recent research suggests far fewer die on-site, hobbling or flailing away from the scene of the crash to meet their fatal ends elsewhere.
For example, a 2022 study published in the open-access journal Springer Link found only 7.2 percent of specimens were found dead, meaning estimates based on bodies found at the scene may offer a drastically inaccurate and underestimated overview of the true toll of building strikes.
Some cities have taken action to address the issue. Canada’s London City municipal council has passed legislation forcing developers to ensure lighting is directed towards the area requiring illumination, therefore reducing sky glow and light pollution. It has also banned upward facing lighting from buildings.
But Zuardo says the U.S. is acting too slowly and that this new study should encourage federal agencies to finally confront the problem. “Fish and Wildlife Service officials have the power to regulate and fine those who cause the death of migrating birds, and they should use it to protect our country’s declining bird populations”, she added in the Center’s press release. ”Unsafe buildings are absolutely deadly for birds, and it’s time to crack down on this threat.”
Brendon Samuels is a PhD candidate at the University of Western Ontario’s Department of Biology as well as a research coordinator for the Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP). He was not involved in the research but told the UK’s The Guardian newspaper this:
If the bird isn’t immediately killed, it doesn’t leave behind any evidence that a collision has taken place. We’re aware of the risk to birds and we have solutions that can prevent this in the design of a new building. We need more governments, especially local governments, to take up safe building design as a policy for new building construction.
The authors of the research used Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to obtain records from eight U.S. states on avian building-collision cases between 2016 and 2021. The states were: New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Delaware, Washington DC, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Connecticut.
While the new figures are without doubt depressing, there is hope. More local authorities are taking the issue seriously and forcing developers to build more responsibly. But many stakeholders agree that national legislation is required to shift the dial. In the meantime, what can people do to help prevent feathered friends from striking their homes? According to the environmental organization Audubon Pennsylvania, we can switch off all lights at night, cover glass with patterned stickers or place physical barriers such as hanging baskets in front of glass windows.
FILM AND ARTICLE CREDITS
- Dan Keel - Journalist, Author
experience
