"TV Tower Wires Kill 400 Birds in One Night"

Thu Oct 6, 8:03 AM ET

MADISON, Wis. - As many as 400 songbirds were killed in one night after they flew into wires holding up a television tower.

The deaths may spur the creation of a group to study the dangers communication towers pose to migrating birds, said specialists with the Department of Natural Resources.

"It's an issue that has been with us for decades," DNR avian ecologist Sumner Matteson said. "But we really haven't done anything about it."

The birds were killed the night of Sept. 13-14 at the WMTV tower.

"There were birds all over the place," said Steven Ugoretz, a DNR environmental specialist who works on tower-related issues.

...Such kills are not unusual during spring and fall migrations, though Ugoretz and Matteson said they are an increasing concern because of multiple threats to the world's songbirds.

Most of the dead birds Sept. 14 were warblers. Other birds included red-eyed vireos, American redstarts, ovenbirds, common yellowthroats and a rose-breasted grosbeak...."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051006/ap_on_re_us/bird_kill

cats because they kill songbirds?

flocks of birds that took 20 minutes to pass overhead when I was younger, I remember looking up and the flock never seemed to end it was like a dark specked stream running through the sky..thousands upon thousands of birds..I guess the flocks are no longer big because of the TV wires, cell towers,power lines, etc. Has anyone else wondered why the big migration flocks have become no more?

I hate how oblivious we humans are about our wants,how it impacts animal life around us and the assumption all technology is good or nessa ry.

Those used to be the most common birds at our backyard feeders. I don't remember the last time I saw a crow.

He was on top of a street light cawing. I am in NJ. I haven't seen a blue jay in a long time.

Heck, even a few tin cans on a string tied to the tower might help scare them off.

and at least the local birdwatchers go and collect the birds and identify them. They found a number of species they didn't know pass this way. I think they also send some to a taxidermist for nature museums and collections.

But it is sad and I believe they have worked to try and figure out a solution to it but have not yet.

Regarding the huge flyovers, we never see them down here in FL although we have a lot of migrating birds. I used to see those endless flocks a lot in NJ and Delaware, where I went to college. For some reason they always depressed me...usually on cold cloudy days, I guess and meant the end of summer.