NEW YORK — On a chilly October morning, Melissa Breyer arrived at the World Trade Center at 6:30 a.m. She carefully surveyed through the high-rise buildings in the area, searching for birds that have fallen to the ground after colliding with a building.
As a volunteer for Project Safe Flight, a program run by the NYC Bird Alliance to monitor bird collisions across the city, she has been walking this path during the early mornings of every migration season for the past five years. On days when collisions are expected to be high, her routes start as early as 5 a.m.
“I’d like to make sure that I could find as many birds as possible,” said Breyer. “The idea of them dying in vain just makes me sad, and I want them all to be counted in the data (that is) so important.”
Every year, during migration seasons in spring and fall, millions of birds migrating along the Atlantic Flyway pass by New York City, where they face a high risk of colliding into buildings due to reflective glass surfaces and lights at night. According to the NYC Bird Alliance, 90,000 to 230,000 birds die each year because of building collisions.
Founded in 1997, Project Safe Flight began as a group of volunteers who monitored building collisions in downtown Manhattan. Today, it has over 200 volunteers patrolling in areas across the five boroughs, collecting information on bird collisions. The birds found alive are sent to rehabilitation at the Wild Bird Fund on the Upper West Side, while those that died are donated to the American Museum of Natural History.
Using the data reported by the volunteers, researchers at the NYC Bird Alliance are able analyze patterns of bird collisions across the city and use their findings to advocate for change. In 2019, the New York City Council pass Local Law 15 of 2020, which requires bird-safe materials to be installed on newly constructed or altered buildings.
For Dustin Partridge, director of conservation and science at the NYC Bird Alliance, the legislation represents a big step toward a bird-friendly city.
However, he says there is much more work to be done, pointing out that artificial lights and reflective glass in many buildings still contribute significantly to the problem.
“The biggest need for New York City is lights-out legislation, something that would require lights in rooms that are unoccupied at night to go dark during spring and fall migrations, from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.,” Partridge said. “If we can get those areas dark, that would save a tremendous number of birds.”
New York City requires city-owned and city-managed buildings to turn off nonessential outdoor lighting at night during peak migration seasons, but advocates are encouraging more privately owned buildings to do the same.
Despite these challenges, Partridge says he is optimistic because of the increased public awareness of bird collisions and the nationwide efforts to address the problem.
“This is something that we can fix, it is not out of our reach,” Partridge said. “My hope is that one day I don’t have to come in and see a freezer full of dead birds, and that future is possible, but it’s going to take work to get there.”
Niko Travis is a dedicated health writer with a passion for providing clear, reliable, and research-backed information about medications and mental health. As the author behind TrazodoneSUC, Niko simplifies complex medical topics to help readers understand the benefits, uses, and potential risks of Trazodone. With a commitment to accuracy and well-being, Niko ensures that every article empowers readers to make informed decisions about their health.
