FCC considers protecting birds from
Birds killed in collisions with communications towers and entanglements in guy wires. (USFWS)
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission or FCC is now considering whether it should take protective measures to help prevent collisions of migratory songbirds with communications towers.
This is what some call “towerkill,” and it’s hard to know just how many birds are killed in this way each year, but estimates are in the millions.
It happens most on cloudy or foggy nights, when tall communications towers turn on lights for aviation safety. The lights refract off water particles in the air and create an illuminated area around the tower. On clear nights, birds are thought to navigate by taking cues from the stars. But, in an overcast sky, birds can end up circling the lights of communications towers. Some birds smash head-on into the towers, while others collide with guy wires or other birds.
Albert Manville of USFWS told Earth & Sky that he believes there’s a need for an industry standard for communication towers. That’s what the FCC is considering right now. Where towers must be illuminated, a recent study showed that eliminating all steadily burning lights on tall towers – while leaving on flashing lights – has been shown to reduce bird mortality by 71%.
Our thanks today to NASA : explore, discover, understand.
Adam Kelly of DeTect Inc. Bird-Aircraft Strike Hazard Management told Earth & Sky that what’s needed right now is more research using radars and other remote sensing tools that can see in the dark and fog to learn how birds behave when confronted by a lit tower or other obstacles.
But, he said, to do such experiments is difficult, because you need low visibility conditions and bird migration to occur at the same time. And it’s expensive to have equipment waiting night after night for such conditions to occur.
In the meantime, every spring, billions of birds travel hundreds or thousands of miles, overcoming obstacles of bad weather, predators, and hunger.
And – although estimates vary – everyone agrees that, every spring, “towerkill” prevents millions of birds from surviving their journeys.
Additional Teacher Resources
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Avian Collisions at Communication Towers – Sources of Information
This web page provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Division of Migratory Bird Management focuses on the issue of bird collisions with communication towers. It provides information on U.S. Fish and Wildlife programs, as well as links for additional information.
Nature Conservancy: NASA Technology Aids Conservancy Bird Research
A network of ornithologists, guided by the Nature Conservancy, is shedding new light on bird migratory patterns using state-of-the-art N-POL radar from NASA. This is the most sophisticated radar ever available for bird research.
