COLLISIONS: Clear the Way for Birds

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International Migratory Bird Day 2005
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COLLISIONS Clear the Way for Birds

• International Migratory Bird Day 2005

Dave Krueper FWS Region 2 Migratory Birds
Office L Dkrueper / Presentations / Collisions
IMBD 2005
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Wings and Wind
Turn Out the Lights
Stopping Traffic
A Pain in the Glass
Trouble With Towers
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Migratory Birds

• Fly hundreds or thousands of miles between
  breeding and non-breeding habitats
• Face many dangers and challenges during the
  flights
• Have adapted to these many challenges and
  dangers, until.
• Are faced with new obstacles which now threaten
  migratory birds more than ever

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Hazards

• Natural Hazards
• Storms
• Predators
• High Winds
• Food Limitations

• Human Hazards
• Vehicles
• Communication Towers
• Wind Turbines
• Plate Glass
• Power and Transmission Lines

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Collision Fatalities

• Estimated that a minimum of 100 million to gt1
  billion birds are killed annually in U.S.
• Vehicles 60 - 80 million
• Buildings and windows 98 - 980 million
• Power lines 10,000 - 174 million
• Communication towers 4 50 million
• Wind generation facilities 10,000 40,000
• Cats 100 million
• Pesticide and contaminants unknown (?)

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Vehicles Problems

• 8 million miles of roads in the U. S.
• Fences and vegetation border the roads used for
  perching and cover
• Puddles, salt, carcasses, etc. attract birds
• Location, proximity to vegetation and water,
  vehicle speed

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Vehicles Solutions

• Erect signs or speed bumps to lower speeds
• Remove vegetation and plantings
• Location of roads and landscaping advances

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Buildings and WindowsProblems

• Invisible to birds reflects images of trees,
  bushes, the sky or other natural habitats
• One or every two strikes is fatal
• Tall buildings that remain lit throughout the
  night may attract birds, confusing them,
  resulting in collisions or exhaustion

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Buildings and WindowsSolutions

• Ribbons, old CDs, wind chimes, silhouettes of
  hawks
• Feeders close to windows (momentum)
• Close curtains and blinds
• Extinguish building lights or draw blinds from
  dusk until dawn

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Power Lines Problems

• Large birds are less maneuverable and most
  vulnerable to collisions
• Most at threat near marshes, lakes and other
  concentration areas
• Weather very important

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Power Lines Solutions

• Burying power lines
• Flags or marker balls
• Parallel configuration
• New guidelines lower impacts

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Communication TowersProblems

• Coverage for cell phones, pagers, television and
  radio
• Over 140,000 towers in U.S. 5,000 new towers
  annually
• Biggest threat are towers gt200, illuminated with
  steady red lights, supported with guy wires,
  located on migration corridors or areas prone to
  weather events (e.g., fog and low clouds)

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N.M. Comm. Towers 1998 data
200-299 148 towers 300-499 181
towers 500-799 34 towers 800 7
towers
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Communication TowersSolutions

• Shorter towers
• Unlit and un-guyed towers
• Strobe lighting
• Located away from migration corridors and cloudy
  areas
• Placement of new towers and use of unobtrusive,
  existing structures

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Wind Turbines

• Used since 200 B.C.E. to grind grain and pump
  water
• Non-polluting alternative to producing
  electricity
• Height of towers currently over 525
• Rotor sweep 300
• Blades 17rpm gt165 mph at tip (smearing)
• Tremendous progress with energy production
  capacity per turbine
• No advances in safety design however

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Wind Turbines Solutions

• Siting and configuration considerations
• Shutting down turbines during events
• Mechanical guards on turbine
• Pre-construction and post-construction studies
• Structural considerations for towers
• Seasonal and daily timing of use
• Radar research to avoid construction in areas
  with avian concentrations
• Upgrade, retrofit and relocate older turbines
• Balance business sense with biological sense

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What You Can Do

• Participation can be important
• Small changes at home (e.g., location of feeders,
  adhesive silhouettes on windows)
• Involvement at work and with your children
• Active contributions to your community
• Education (yourself and family)

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For More Information

• American Bird Conservancy Wind Energy Policy
  www.abcbirds.org
• Avian Power Line Interaction Committee
  www.aplic.org
• Fatal Light Awareness Program www.flap.org
• National Wind Coordinating Committee
  www.nationalwind.org
• USFWS http//migratorybirds.fws.gov/issues

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International Migratory Bird Day 2005