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And that pales in comparison to the number of birds killed by glass. Estimates of 100 million to 1 billion birds annually in the US alone. Every time I hear bir
by aqme28 15y ago
And that pales in comparison to the number of birds killed by glass. Estimates of 100 million to 1 billion birds annually in the US alone. Every time I hear bird-deaths as an argument against windmills I want to scream until I die.
[1]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4134773/ns/us_news-environment/t/plate-glass-blamed-billion-bird-deaths-year/#.T5vmUsRYub0 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4134773/ns/us_news-environment/t...
- jules 15y agoGoing further, the number of birds killed for human consumption is even greater: 8.9 billion chickens in the US per year.
- Swizec 15y agoBirds dying from glass is actually a rather simple problem to solve - eagle stickers. Apparently if you put a sticker of an eagle's silhuette on every couple of windows most birds will stay away and won't hit the glass. I see this mostly done on our motorways though ... never seen it on a skyscraper yet.
- cydonian_monk 15y agoIt wouldn't stop the crows where I work. They patrol the skies like the RAF during a zeppelin raid. Not only do they chase off bigger birds, like eagles and buzzards, but they go after most anything that moves (except humans... for now). To top it off, they systematically test the windows of our building every two weeks or so. They'll fly up to peck or pound on one window, then work clockwise around the building. Scary smart birds.
- protomyth 15y agoThey use tools and seem to have a amazing knowledge of the exact range of a shotgun. The local farmers tend not to be amused by some of their antics and feeding habits.
- teeray 15y agoBlue Jays are corvids as well and have a tremendous ability to learn. We had peanuts strewn about a table on our deck for the Jays as well as inside a peanut dispenser for the squirrels. When the first Blue Jay arrived, it called dozens more and the peanuts on the table were exhausted in a matter of minutes. After this, they sat on the railing of the deck and watched the squirrels use the peanut dispenser. After a minute or two of observation, one jumped down and mimicked the squirrel clumsily and was then able to get another peanut. The ones in the dispenser didn't last long after that...
- kijin 15y agoWell, isn't that at least partly because the number of glass windows in most parts of the country is several orders of magnitude greater than the number of windmills? We might need to consider the bird-kill argument a bit more seriously if the plan is to build windmills all over the place.
- Anechoic 15y agoThis link: http://www.coeccc.net/Environmental_Scans/wind_scan_sw_09.pdfestimates http://www.coeccc.net/Environmental_Scans/wind_scan_sw_09.pd... there are about 25,000 turbines in the USA. According to GP, 300,000/year birds are killed by wind turbines, which results in about 12 birds killed per turbine per year. This compares with about 83 birds per radio tower. Of course the growth rate of wind turbines vs towers (and glass windows) is probably different, so you have a point.
- MPSimmons 15y agoEventually natural selection will take over and the ones that figure out that glass isn't bird-permeable.
- Nick_C 15y agoThe difference is that birds killed by glass are in an urban environment and, because of that, are adapted and, with a few exceptions, not endangered. In contrast, almost all wind turbines are in rural or wild environments where some endangered species may live.