AFTER-DARK BUILDING COLLISION CLAIMS LIVES OF MORE THAN A HUNDRED CHIMNEY SWIFTS

Aftermath of the incident - some of the birds lived to fly again but many were killed outright  (Photographs: Carolina Waterfowl Rescue)

THE threat posed to night-flying migrant birds by bright lights in buildings has been underlined by a sad incident at Charlotte in North Carolina.

Some 300-plus chimney swifts flew into the city's Nascar hall of fame building, with at least 100 being killed and many more being injured.

The chimney swift is slightly smaller than the common swift familiarly seen in Europe.

Says the American Bird Conservancy: "Ordinarily, after sundown, chimney swifts would have been sleeping in a sheltered roost.

"Why they were aloft at night is hard to know, but the building's bright lights likely played a role in attracting them and possibly blinding and disorienting them, leading the flock to collide with windows and walls.

"The situation in Charlotte is a good illustration of the danger artificial light at night poses to migrants.

" As many as 1 billion birds die in collisions with glass (i.e. windows) each year in the U.S. 

Most of these collisions take place during the day, as migrating birds are looking for food to replenish energy reserves and mistake reflections on glass for habitat.

"Buildings pose a particularly serious threat at night and especially when conditions are foggy or stormy, when birds can't see what's below or in front of them. 

"As likely happened with the swifts, a brightly lit building can act as a beacon, one that attracts birds, possibly blinding them at the same time."

Adds Dr. Christine Sheppard, American Bird Conservancy's Bird Collisions Campaign Director: “Turning off unnecessary lights can help birds, while saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"There are simple fixes we can make to reduce the reflective and translucent nature of glass and prevent bird deaths. 

"We should get serious about that.”

See also report of a comparable incident that occurred in Galveston, Texas
https://bit.ly/2sDMydv

Related reading (all titles available as e-books via Kindle):

William Eagle Clarke: Lighthouse Birdwatcher

William Eagle Clarke: Lightship Birdwatcher

James Wright: The Isle of May and its Birds - The Migration Studies of Evelyn Baxter and Leonora Rintoul

The building in Charlotte where the incident occurred last October (Photo: Flame37fighter via Wikimedia Commons)