Birds hitting the skyscrapers of New York

Sidewalks are found strewn with dead birds at the foot of these buildings. An NGO asks to act accordingly to avoid these colissions.

–
–

@Twitter screenshot

Whoever walked this week near One World Trade Center in Manhattan would have been treated to a sad sight: a ground strewn with hundreds of corpses of migratory birds. All of them hit the New York skyscraper, believing there were no windows. A volunteer from the Aubudon National Society (which campaigns for environmental conservation), Melissa Breyer, did the tally. In one hour, she alone collected no less than 226 dead birds and 77 others alive but needing to be treated in a refuge. His video is now making the rounds of the Anglo-Saxon media. She says she is shocked in the face of this massacre “overwhelmingAnd his association asks that this problem be solved as best as possible through various techniques.

I did this for 65 minutes straight doing one loop around @ 4WTC and @3NYWTC — most of these before sunrise. Please can we turn off lights during migration??? pic.twitter.com/pCXoJkUXo0

— Melissa Breyer (@MelissaBreyer) September 14, 2021

Migration + headwinds + light pollution = mass collisions

Seeing birds crashing into the buildings of Manhattant is not uncommon in itself. But in recent days, several factors have made this phenomenon even more massive. First, there are the annual migrations, which occur as soon as autumn arrives, that is, now. Then there are the weather conditions. Ornithology expert Christiaan Both, from the University of Groningen, tells Dutch media NOS that this year the birds had to contend with headwinds and strong winds due to a storm. “If migrating birds have a head wind, they will fly lower than when they have a tail wind. Because of the storm, they reached the height of the buildings», He declares. Add to that the nighttime light reflecting off the windows of skyscrapers, especially on a cloudy day, and New Yorkers end up with carpets of birds in some places.

For the Aubudon company, it is time to react. In particular, it urges the owners of the One World Trade Center and other buildings to reduce their light pollution and to treat the glass so that it is more visible to birds. A company developing skyscrapers in New York, Silverstein Properties, was sympathetic in its response given via the Associated Press. “We actively encourage our office tenants to turn off their lights at night and lower their shades whenever possible, especially during the migration season.», Says his spokesperson. On the side of One World Trade Center on the other hand, the co-developer of the tower, the Durst Organization, argued that the building was precisely designed to avoid bird collisions. Probably not enough for the Aubudon company.

–