Mass mortality events in Manhattan on 13-14 September 2021

The BirdCast team is saddened and deeply disturbed by the mass bird collision events that occurred on Monday night and Tuesday morning in Manhattan. Intense urban light pollution (and an abundance of tall buildings) together with poor flying conditions (this map shows the frontal boundary associated with the strong storms and poor visibility conditions) on a night of intense and low altitude migration contributed to these events. With our partners in New York, Texas, Washington D.C, and all around the US, we recommend immediate actions – turning off all non-essential lights, especially during migration periods, to reduce birds’ attraction to and disorientation by them – as well as broader actions – making buildings (and homes! Collisions are NOT simply an urban and building problem!) bird friendly – to prevent these awful occurrences.

As a reminder:

• turn off nonessential lights during migration seasons.
• make windows safer, including by using tape, decals, bird-saver curtains.
• monitor bird migration activity, check lights out alerts, and darken major light sources during intense periods.
• build/retrofit buildings and homes using bird safe glass.
• design buildings with less glass, especially see-through walkways.
• monitor buildings in your area to develop a baseline and identify problem buildings and structures.

Remember, you can record any dead or injured birds you find at dbird.org. If you are in New York City, you can contact NYC Audubon regarding dead birds; and if you find a live, injured bird, you can contact Wild Bird Fund.