Radio and TV Towers Killing Songbirds; Solution Is Simple

Radio and TV Towers Killing Songbirds; Solution Is Simple
COLUMN by LEE DYE
Jan. 15, 2013

Giant TV and radio towers that have been blamed for nearly 7 million bird deaths each year are doing the most damage to species that can hardly afford the loss, according to a new study.

At least 97 percent of the birds that crash into the towers, or the guy wires that hold them up, are the tiny songbirds – mostly warblers – that are considered "birds of conservation concern" in the United States and Canada, according to the study, published in the journal Biological Conservation. Each year, according to the study, the species yellow rail loses about 9 percent of its total population because of communications towers, many of which are taller than the Empire State Building.

The latest study comes from the same researchers, members of the Los Angeles-based Urban Wildlands Group, that warned last year of the spiraling mortality of birds that are attracted to the lights, usually red, atop the towers. The lights are required by the Federal Aviation Administration for any tower over 200 feet tall, and there are thousands in North America that are more than 10 times that height.

The latest study comes from the same researchers, members of the Los Angeles-based Urban Wildlands Group, that warned last year of the spiraling mortality of birds that are attracted to the lights, usually red, atop the towers. The lights are required by the Federal Aviation Administration for any tower over 200 feet tall, and there are thousands in North America that are more than 10 times that height.

More:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/radio-transmission-towers-blamed-songbirds-deaths-blinking-warning/story?id=18213952