U.S. Fisheries and Wildlife video showing usage of “avian-friendly” flashing lights
As part of a national effort to prevent bird collisions and help meet industry needs, the U.S. Fisheries and Wildlife Service has produced a video directly targeted to communication tower owners with NATE Chairman Jimmy Miller and Richard Hickey of Vertical Bridge making an appearance in the film. The agency calls tower owners “the single most important audience we can work with to prevent the impacts to migratory birds at the 160,000 communication towers across the country. By creating this communication product, we are working to proactively engage this audience in implementing best practices at their towers to protect millions of birds every year.”
The agency says each year, nearly seven million birds die due to night-time collisions with communication towers. Their research has demonstrated that eliminating non-flashing lights on towers may reduce migratory bird collisions by as much as 70 percent while simultaneously reducing energy costs for tower owners. This means that exclusive use of flashing lights can save up to four million birds a year, adding up to hundreds or thousands of birds during the life of a single tower.
“We worked in partnership with several federal agencies to develop and implement actions that help avoid and minimize impacts to migratory birds from communication towers while simultaneously reducing tower construction and maintenance costs,” said Assistant Director for the Migratory Bird Program Jerome Ford. “These changes reduce construction and operational energy costs for tower owners, making it a win-win for industry and birds.”
The video includes interviews from tower owners who have changed their lighting and provides instructions for owners on how to start the process. It showcases the financial resources owners can save by making this switch, and celebrates the birds saved from collisions with towers.
To learn more about this effort and get additional information, visit the communication towers webpage.
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