Do towers kill birds

[CaptBob92]

Just read an article in the local paper in which the writer refferenced how radio towers cause problems i.e. death to migratory birds. I got to thinking that In my 45 years in radio and many visits to tower sites I do not remember ever seeing a large group of dead bird bodies around any towers. Granted, most of my work has been in Michigan, Ohio and Florida. Do you know of a large bird kill around a tower? Ever seen it yourself? Has a close friend told you of this or is this a myth?

 

[w9wi]

Just read an article in the local paper in which the writer refferenced how radio towers cause problems i.e. death to migratory birds. I got to thinking that In my 45 years in radio and many visits to tower sites I do not remember ever seeing a large group of dead bird bodies around any towers. Granted, most of my work has been in Michigan, Ohio and Florida. Do you know of a large bird kill around a tower? Ever seen it yourself? Has a close friend told you of this or is this a myth?

http://library.fws.gov/Bird_Publications/birdkills_towers98.htm

 

[TomT]

This is mostly nonsense by the environazis, NIMBYS and Bananas. They contend the red flashing lights on guyed towers are a menace, confusing the poor birdies. (After all, haven't you seen all the dead birds around the base of traffic lights?) They also contend that the birds can't see the guy wires, and fly into them. They want all towers to be self-supporters, with strobes--since these are easier to get the NIMBY's up in arms about in order to ban all towers.

When you have flocks of migrating birds, there will always be the few making their last trip. The flock perches on a tower because, like a dead tree, they can see predators while hiding in the "branches." Get a cold rain, a sudden drop in temperature, and the weak birds drop. Or, like it used to be at my site, the DJ's feed their left-over pizza to stray cats, who are not adverse to picking off a careless song bird from time to time.

We're about a mile from a nature preserve (island in the Ohio River). Every fall, when the wild grapes are ripe, my 220' tower will be loaded with blackbirds--guy wires, antennas, anyplace they can roost. Drunk on the wild grapes and sh**ing purple all over the cars and anything else they can hit from 75 feet up...

Now, if you want to see some dead-drunk birds.....

 

[SML]

Notice how up-to-date the bird kill publication posted above is: Last Revised: 10 June 1998

There is concern by a number of groups about towers being a hazard to migratory birds. However, so far, nothing conclusive has been shown by any of these groups, nor has any long term study proven that this is a big problem. Of course that does not stop the complaining. The FCC has notified new tower owners of these concerns.
At the new TV tower on Maui, final construction was held up for a year while the situation was studied, EIR issued, and so forth. The on-site studies up there on a 200 ft unlit self-supporting tower are that there has been a zero bird mortality rate. None, zip, nada. And part of the responsibility of the tower owner is to have a birder walk the area around the tower twice a week to find dead birds. Two years now = no dead birds found. Plenty of live birds, however, use the tower as a perch for killing rodents. From personal observation, I think the rat population has dropped significantly up there since the new tower was added.
But I am kind of afraid to brag about that. Next thing you know, some person will probably think that we should protect the rats.

 

[nmoore6676]

Just read an article in the local paper in which the writer refferenced how radio towers cause problems i.e. death to migratory birds. I got to thinking that In my 45 years in radio and many visits to tower sites I do not remember ever seeing a large group of dead bird bodies around any towers. Granted, most of my work has been in Michigan, Ohio and Florida. Do you know of a large bird kill around a tower? Ever seen it yourself? Has a close friend told you of this or is this a myth?

http://library.fws.gov/Bird_Publications/birdkills_towers98.htm

Might carry some weight except that it has been definitively shown that wind turbines DO kill birds. But since the environmentalists are dead set on them to cure the greenhouse gas "problem" they are not screaming about those towers. One thing I noticed about the report cited, besides it being a little dated" is that the major problem seems to be the taller TV masts and not AM radio or other communications towers.

It is probable that all structures impact birds, I've watch birds continually fly into windows until they bash their brains out so should we ban all human habitation?

 

[BobOnTheJob]

I have a 240' guyed tower with red lighting in my back yard & in the 18 years it's been there, I have yet to see a flock of dead birds on the ground. When I do see a dead bird, it's often a ways from the tower & under a guy wire...I may see 1 or 2 a year in that category. If they are flying into guy wires, then they are flying into power lines as well. That said, birds regularly fly headfirst into my family room window & die as a result. That results in about 10 dead birds a year just involving that one window. Of course, the environmentalist whackos love my triple pane energy efficient windows, so I doubt we'll hear a cry to ban them anytime soon.

 

[ChiefEngineer]

Tall buildings with windows are a bigger threat as mentioned. In Indy there was a push against towers years ago. No support for this theory on 200 foot and smaller towers.

 

[nd2023]

What about the RF from the antennas? A few thousand watts could certainly give a nasty RF burn, and will cause cancer leading to a shorter lifespan. The megawatt UHF stations could kill on contact, flying near those is like being in a microwave. The SWR protection would only kick in after it's too late for the bird.

 

[BobOnTheJob]

The megawatt UHF stations could kill on contact, flying near those is like being in a microwave. The SWR protection would only kick in after it's too late for the bird.

I've never worked with TV RF, but would a 6" bird flying near a 50' long UHF antenna (it would pretty much have to fly as I believe they are smooth & there's no place to perch) have any SWR consequences at all? Based on long past experiences with humans over 10x that length climbing near FM antennas at less than 1/10 the frequency, I'd guess the SWR meter wouldn't budge, muss less trigger a power fold back.

 

[TomT]

Given that the lifespan of a typical songbird is around three or four years--at best--I doubt that cancer is much of a worry.

Somewhere way down the list from peregrine falcons, hawks and the neighborhood ***** cat.

 

[ChiefEngineer]

Why don't we get rid of cats instead of towers. History would show cats have killed more birds.

The whole tower theory is a case of stupidity. Get rid of cats, houses with picture windows, AND towers. Then we can live outside with the birds.

Someone that supports this probably doesn't make the cat connection.

 

[necrat123]

It's NIMBY idiots fetching at straws to find anything they can to fight tower construction.

Wildcats and Predator birds kill more birds than anything. Maybe they should go after them.

 

[techie2]

Given that the lifespan of a typical songbird is around three or four years--at best--I doubt that cancer is much of a worry.

Somewhere way down the list from peregrine falcons, hawks and the neighborhood ------ cat.

No kidding, the Cooper's hawk that hangs out in my neighborhood picks them off left and right.

 

[TomT]

Ah, but you can't touch him.

He's in the union

 

[nmoore6676]

A picture is worth a thousand words: http://ottumwacourier.com/archive/x1687700181

Or the Turkey Buzzards come back to Ottumwa Iowa.