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  #1  
Old Posted Apr 7, 2019, 8:06 PM
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Skyscrapers Are Killing Up To 1 Billion Birds A Year In US, Scientists Estimate

Skyscrapers Are Killing Up To 1 Billion Birds A Year In US, Scientists Estimate


7 Apr 2019

By Lauren Aratani

Read More: https://www.theguardian.com/environm...-cities-report

Quote:
Scientists estimate that at least 100 million and maybe as many as a billion birds die each year in the US when they collide with buildings, especially glass-covered or illuminated skyscrapers. And, in a new report, conservationists now have a better idea which American cities are the deadliest for those on the wing.

- Chicago, with its many glass superstructures that spike into what is the busiest US avian airspace during migration, is the most dangerous city for those feathered travelers. More than 5 million birds from at least 250 different species fly through the Windy City’s downtown every fall and spring. — They journey twice a year, many thousands of miles, going north in the spring from Central and South America, across the Great Lakes to Canada, and back south in the fall.

- The famous skyline of Manhattan is another death trap for birds, especially those migrating. “They wind up landing somewhere that’s unfamiliar, like a sidewalk somewhere,” said Susan Elbin, director of conservation and science at New York City Audubon, a leading bird advocacy organization. “Then when daylight comes, and they want to get more food, they’ll fly into a tree that they think is a tree, and it’s really a reflected tree in some glass building … Then they’ll slam into the glass, and then they die.”

- Most birds migrating through the US do so at night, when the airspace is cool and calm – and often end up veering through cities because their glow stands out. Scientists have long known that birds are attracted to light, so when they fly over a bright city at night, they are naturally drawn toward it, unaware they are in dangerous territory. Any city with glass structures and bright lights at night is a culprit, but some are more dangerous to birds than others.

-,The Cornell Lab of Ornithology published a study this week that ranks cities based on the danger they pose to migrating birds. Houston and Dallas, which also lie along some of the most popular migration paths, round out the top three most deadly cities after Chicago. New York, Los Angeles, St Louis and Atlanta also pose risks during migration. Kyle Horton, an author of the Cornell study, said that the researchers were not trying to criticize cities per se.

- Though the studies bear sad news about the effects cities have on birds, conservationists see them as opportunities to target their activism. “Every time new scientific literature comes out, we learn more about the problem, and … we can pinpoint the best solutions using the science,” said Kaitlyn Parkins, a conservation biologist at NYC Audubon. Turning out the lights in buildings at night for a few weeks during peak migration is a simple first step and would make a big difference.

- Conservationists also advocate that buildings adopt more “bird-friendly” designs, for example using patterned glass and dimmer lighting. San Francisco and Toronto have already adopted some bird-friendly guidelines, while city council members in New York and Chicago have introduced legislation to adopt similar measures. A bipartisan bill in Congress introduced in January, called the “Bird-Safe Building Act”, would require new federal buildings to adopt designs that keep migrating birds in mind.

.....



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  #2  
Old Posted Apr 8, 2019, 4:13 AM
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1. What types of birds are being killed? Little songbirds? Pigeons? Eagles?
2. Of the birds typically killed, how many are there in the world?
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Old Posted Apr 8, 2019, 5:03 PM
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Yes, but does the noise from skyscrapers... cause cancer?!
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Old Posted Apr 8, 2019, 6:25 PM
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Just for comparison, I wonder how many are killed for human consumption...

I believe we kill far more animals as a whole for breakfast/lunch/and dinner.
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  #5  
Old Posted Apr 9, 2019, 12:19 AM
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Chickens are considered birds. Billions of Chickens.

Skyscrapers are not the issue with killing birds, the Chinese and Americans are. China kills something like 9 billion chickens and the U.S., the same, about 9 billion.

Can also blame cats. Cats look cute, but they are great at eating mice and birds. Likewise with Snakes.

And cats are twisted too, but like in a cute way. I use to work on a farm when I was in my teens as a part-time job, and the black cats (farm had 20 of them) would kill the mice, than play with the body. Sometimes, they just eat the head and leave the rat corpse there.

But I tell ya, no rats or mice when those cats were around.

Everyone should have a cat around for pest control.
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  #6  
Old Posted Apr 9, 2019, 12:32 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NYguy View Post
Just for comparison, I wonder how many are killed for human consumption...

I believe we kill far more animals as a whole for breakfast/lunch/and dinner.
We eat a lot of chicken.

However we don't eat a lot of birds that fly into buildings.

My thread got locked.
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  #7  
Old Posted Apr 9, 2019, 12:36 AM
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One could say that the bird meat is tenderized when it strikes the building, so if anything, its tender bird meat.

I'm sure somebody would eat it. Could probally start some sort of niche restaurant selling bird meat that strikes buildings. "Organically urban" or something like that.
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Old Posted Apr 9, 2019, 12:38 AM
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How does that compare to windmills? How many birds die each year smashing into Trump branded buildings? Inquiring minds want to know?
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  #9  
Old Posted Apr 9, 2019, 3:10 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M II A II R II K View Post
Skyscrapers Are Killing Up To 1 Billion Birds A Year In US, Scientists Estimate


7 Apr 2019

By Lauren Aratani

Read More: https://www.theguardian.com/environm...-cities-report







THIS IS CNN!

Time to ban skyscrapers! Stop killing the birds!
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  #10  
Old Posted Apr 9, 2019, 5:41 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hauntedheadnc View Post
Yes, but does the noise from skyscrapers... cause cancer?!
Only the ones with windmills.
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Old Posted Apr 9, 2019, 1:55 PM
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isn't this kinda evolution at work?

the birds too stupid to recognize that there is a building in front of them don't pass on their genes to subsequent generations.

the birds who are smart enough not to fly into buildings do get to pass on their genes.
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Last edited by Steely Dan; Apr 9, 2019 at 2:14 PM.
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Old Posted Apr 9, 2019, 1:56 PM
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I doubt the legislation being considered in NYC for this issue will be passed, too many developers will fight back. Especially since the treated glass to curb the issue is 3-4x as expensive.
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Old Posted Apr 9, 2019, 4:11 PM
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is it something to do with how compact the city is or how big the skyscrapers are? probably both, the less area in the sky the more they die. it rhymes
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Old Posted Apr 9, 2019, 4:15 PM
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I think they should just turn the lights off on glass skyscrapers during the busiest weeks of migration, which is only about 3 weeks a year. I believe Chicago does this already on some of its tallest towers. I used to belong the Houston Audubon Society and we would go around picking up dead birds and tallying how many died and of what species in downtown Houston every Spring and Fall. The numbers were staggering, we would find thousands of dead warblers and other migratory songbirds. Skyscrapers pose just as much of a threat to songbirds as does forest fragmentation and habitat loss and that was hard to cope with being a fan of skyscrapers and a birdwatcher.
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Old Posted Apr 9, 2019, 8:34 PM
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I don't think this is something to be joked about.
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  #16  
Old Posted Apr 9, 2019, 11:18 PM
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What we need are buildings with less glass and more stonework. Scarecrows and gargoyles on every corner. Bring back Gotham City. Do it for the birds.
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  #17  
Old Posted Apr 11, 2019, 4:25 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by badrunner View Post
What we need are buildings with less glass and more stonework. Scarecrows and gargoyles on every corner. Bring back Gotham City. Do it for the birds.
Good idea!
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  #18  
Old Posted Apr 17, 2019, 9:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Capsule F View Post
I don't think this is something to be joked about.
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Old Posted Apr 24, 2019, 6:52 PM
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Did anyone in Chicago hear about this?
https://birdfriendlychicago.org/ordinance

Apparently the city council health and environmental protection committee hearing was today, 10am-noon.
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  #20  
Old Posted Apr 25, 2019, 1:30 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chris08876 View Post
One could say that the bird meat is tenderized when it strikes the building, so if anything, its tender bird meat.

I'm sure somebody would eat it. Could probally start some sort of niche restaurant selling bird meat that strikes buildings. "Organically urban" or something like that.
Thats a lot of protein. Could benefit the homeless
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