Every year approximately 6.8 million migratory birds collide with communication towers in the United States and Canada. All towers that are 199 feet above ground level are required to have lighting to increase their visibility for pilots and aviation interests, and the combination of illumination, obstructions, and migration traffic is deadly for approximately birds annually in the US.
Nocturnally migrating birds are attracted to and disoriented by tower lights. When birds congregate near towers, chances of collision with tower guy wires increase dramatically.
Fortunately, there’s a unique, win-win opportunity for communications tower owners and birds: switching non-flashing lights to flashing lights. Birds are less attracted to flashing lights than to non-flashing lights and as a result towers with flashing lights kill significantly fewer birds. Eliminating non-flashing lights on towers can reduce bird collisions by as much as 70 percent while simultaneously reducing energy and maintenance costs for tower owners. The Federal Aviation Administration supports these tower lighting updates, and more than 10,000 towers are now lit with bird friendly lights making bird migration safer. And those of you visiting BirdCast know that North American bird populations have decreased by three billion birds since 1970 – every opportunity we have to help protect birds is valuable!
You can help tower owners learn about this win-win opportunity using a few easy clicks at SongbirdSaver. At SongbirdSaver you can learn where in the U.S. towers are located, find tower owner contact information, and distribute helpful outreach materials. Join the effort to protect birds in your community and beyond. For more information about bird collisions with towers visit “fws.gov” and enter “tower” in the search box.
