The Race to Save 1 Billion Feathered Friends

www.ozy.com [OZY]( OZY A Modern Media Company Share This Sh*t December 07, 2022 Share This Sh*t [The drop]( THE RACE TO SAVE 1 BILLION FEATHERED FRIENDS As winter sets in, migratory birds should have arrived safely in warmer zones. But the reality is not so pretty. Sponsored by [Cariuma]( Crash Scene Ian Graber-Stiehl in Chicago [@StiehlPointPen]( Biannually, around 4 [billion]( birds migrate through four North American [flyways](, the geographic superhighways for airborne migration. But an [estimated]( 500 million to 1 billion die during migration due to collisions with human-made structures — a staggering avian death toll rivaled only by predation from domestic [cats](. The McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago is the bird [collision capital]( of America. The city’s Field Museum has run a collision monitoring [project]( since 1978, which has collected more than 40,000 avian casualties. Today, such monitoring efforts, paired with new technology and citizen research, are helping scientists better understand why birds crash — in an effort to aid the migratory species whose numbers are fast [dwindling](. An estimated 500 million to 1 billion birds die during migration due to collisions with human-made structures. What can be done? [Douglas Stotz](, the Field Museum’s senior conservation ecologist, says that two of the [biggest]( [killers]( of migratory birds are lights and windows. Birds rely in part on [stars and constellations]( to find their migratory routes, while artificial illumination, including indoor lights behind deadly glass windows, can confuse them and lead to fatal crashes. (Stotz points out that even humans occasionally walk into glass doors — and we interact with glass every day.) In [2017](, in an effort to better understand how lights affect bird movements, Cornell University researchers alighted upon the massive twin light beams of New York’s 9/11 memorial. Monitoring birds via radar, the researchers found that the number of birds over lower Manhattan was up to 150 times greater when the lights were activated. In other words, it seems that an ever more artificially constructed and anthropogenically illuminated environment is a veritable death trap for many birds. So, what can be done? ADVERTISEMENT [FORTUNE TELLER SAYS…GRAB ‘EM WHILE THEY’RE HERE!]( Just like you have a knack for knowing when something’s the right fit for you, OZY has a knack for guessing what the next big thing in names, trends, and ideas is going to be. Kind of like a fortune teller, if you will. 🔮 So, listen up: The OCA Low Canvas sneakers from the cool and sustainable sneaker brand, [Cariuma](, are it. 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Further muddying the picture of the population-level effects of collisions are climate change and overall habitat loss. Both phenomena [affect]( the migration [timing](, [distribution](, and mortality of populations — but in ways that are difficult to disentangle. Yet scientists have gathered some important information, such as that [more vocal]( birds and young, less experienced migrators are more common victims. In 2017, Galveston, Texas, saw nearly [400 birds]( die from collisions with a single building in a single night. Recently, conservation groups have moved forward to implement efforts designed to reduce collisions, including improved methods for monitoring and predicting peak migrations, and then getting building complexes to turn out their lights during those periods. Chief among these efforts is the Audubon Society’s [Lights Out]( program. Over the last two decades, the movement has established “delumination” agreements in almost 40 cities. These programs, typically involving specific buildings or complexes, are largely voluntary, while some Lights Out agreements also include city or county-level ordinances for government-owned buildings. In 2017, Galveston, Texas, saw nearly [400 birds]( die from collisions with a single building in a single night. Such staggering fatalities are not unprecedented in Texas, which is home to the second (Houston) and third (Dallas) deadliest cities nationally for birds by collision mortality, after Chicago. The Lone Star State has recently stepped up as a champion of Audubon’s Lights Out program. In 2021, Fort Worth became the first major Texas city to [sign on]( to the Audubon Society and Cornell University’s Lights Out Texas campaign, after which [several]( other counties [followed suit](. The Texas Conservation Alliance, an organization that educates Texans about wildlife and advocates for habitat improvement, is planning to monitor collisions in Fort Worth — which would make it the sixth city in a major collision hotspot to collect specimens to help better understand the dynamics of when and why birds crash. But such programs are piecemeal, voluntary initiatives. Says Stotz, “The long-term solution is not Lights Out.” Rather, he posits, the answer lies in smarter construction. Citizen Scientists Perhaps surprisingly, ordinary people joining forces as citizen scientists may play a crucial role in helping to understand — and possibly save — vanishing species. Bird sightings reported by an army of volunteers can be cross-referenced against radar observations and crash victims, to help scientists learn more about which birds are where, and what they are doing. Wesley Hochachka of Cornell University says that citizen scientists can assist in what he calls “data integration.” Cornell researchers have developed a program called [BirdCast](, which uses machine learning to better forecast migrations. Radar monitoring then tells scientists how many birds — or, rather, blips on the radar — are moving where. BirdCast supplements this monitoring with other data in order to predict movements. And bird sightings reported by an army of volunteers can be cross-referenced against radar observations and crash victims, to help scientists learn more about which birds are where, and what they are doing. Nadja Weisshaupt of the Finnish Meteorological Institute says that volunteers on the ground are one of the best tools for understanding the flow of flocks captured on radar. But while apps like iNaturalist or eBird allow untrained citizen scientists to independently submit information about bird sightings, such platforms accepting photos of dead birds would be problematic. Hochachka notes that the platforms would have to confirm the bird died of a collision, determine the time of death, and ensure multiple photos aren’t being submitted of the same specimen. Back in Chicago, Stotz says that data collection and delumination can help only so much. He says that constructing and refurbishing buildings with more bird-friendly materials, such as windows with ultraviolet patterns visible to most songbirds, offers a more comprehensive solution. Last year, Chicago passed a Bird-Safe Buildings Act, requiring any new or renovated state-owned buildings to incorporate bird-friendly design. Meanwhile, in Manhattan late last year, the city council cited BirdCast in a [mandate]( requiring city-owned buildings to turn off nonessential lights during peak migration periods. Weisshaupt says that the rising tide of citizen science, advances in radar analytics, and adoption of Lights Out policies offer a newfound ability not only to understand migration patterns and mortality but, she hopes, to prevent many bird populations from crashing, or ultimately disappearing, in the future. Uniting and celebrating women in sneaker culture and creating a space for everyone who loves dope kicks and fly 'fits. Check out Sneaker Fiends, hosted by The Notorious KIA -- new episodes drop every Thursday. EPISODE 3 NOW STREAMING! Featuring Genevieve Channelle & Keia Kodama [WATCH HERE]( What else could be done to keep feathered friends alive? 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