Cities with their pollution, bright lights and noise sometimes become dangerous not only for the inhabitants, but also for the animal world, willingly or unwittingly colliding with the urban environment. And if there are still unfavorable weather conditions, the confluence of all these factors can lead to tragedy.
In early May, on the ground near the tallest building in Galveston (Texas), people found hundreds of dead and dying birds. Among them were spruce forest and chamois singers, Orioles, redstarts. After the calculation, there were 395 individuals belonging to 25 species. After wintering, a large flock of birds crossed the Gulf of Mexico and headed north to places of habitual nesting. Over the southern state there was bad weather: it was raining and there was a stormy wind. Therefore, the flock flew lower than usual. At the same time it seems that I got into a strong air stream. On their way grew a skyscraper, illuminated by bright lights …
As the ornithologists suggest, in the dark birds took illuminations for the moonlight. Of the hundreds of birds who encountered a 23-story building, only three birds survived. Bird bodies were sent to university laboratories, where researchers will check them for health, take DNA. Experts commented that the May tragedy in Texas was the most massive loss of birds at least for a 10-year period. They appealed to the authorities of megacities and large cities with the request to muffle the light of office skyscrapers at night, at least for the time of migration of birds, reports The Huffington Post.
