Sheril KirshenbaumOct 6, 2023
Buildings are extremely deadly for migrating #birds every year, but they can be designed & updated to minimize collisions. https://birdcast.info/news/major-collision-event-in-chicago-4-5-october-2023/
Major bird-window collision event in Chicago, 4-5 October 2023 - BirdCast

Reports from the Chicago, Illinois area indicate that large numbers of birds died in collisions while major migration was occurring in the area on the night of 4-5 October 2023. Although details are still emerging, this event appears to be a combination of high intensity migration, adverse weather conditions for flying, and light and glass - a mix we know too well can be deadly. Turn off your lights, make your windows bird friendly!

GoodbyebirdOct 6, 2023
Show threadSheril Kirshenbaum

Mortality for birds from collision with buildings is much higher than most folks realize. Although it’s worth noting that the toll is still vastly lower than deaths from cats.

Data from U.S. Fish & Wildlife. Also, bc it needs to be stated - this is not a post against cats. /2

Oct 6, 2023 at 1:19pmMetatext
Show threadBart King 🐢Oct 6, 2023
@Sheril can it be a lost against unbelled outdoor cats, tho?
Show threadVegOSOct 6, 2023
@Sheril I checking occasionally and I never found a dead bird below a wind turbine.
Show threadPierricOct 6, 2023
@Sheril i saw a toot some time ago that warned against that us wildlife data source as the study in question was questioned long ago, yet it keeps popping up. The core argument when it comes to wind turbines is still absolutely relevant, but it seems the point about cats is likely to be massively overstated.
Couldn't find the toot again unfortunately 🤷‍♂️
Show threadChristian SchwägerlOct 6, 2023
@Sheril @ingalls Sorry to spoil, but please try to follow thru to the source material by US Fish and Wildlife. It‘s a seriously outdated estimate not backed by any current data. I‘m not making a specific claim here about the real numbers etc. it‘s just that this often-used statistic is garbage and should not pass Statista‘s quality control.
Show threadHonestHypocriteOct 6, 2023
@christianschwaegerl @Sheril @ingalls How much is the data off by? a factor of 100? 1000? Cats vs everything else is astoundingly different. Building glass is also large. This plot includes the error bars from Fish and Wildlife, the statista data should include the error bars. If you have sources for better data, I’ll make a new plot.
Show threadHonestHypocriteOct 6, 2023
@christianschwaegerl @Sheril @ingalls This data is from 2017 so later than the chart, conclusions don’t change much. https://www.fws.gov/library/collections/threats-birds cites sources from 2006 to 2014.
Threats to Birds | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

What Are the Threats to Birds?

FWS.gov
Show threadChristian SchwägerlOct 6, 2023
@HonestHypocrite @Sheril @ingalls Just to avoid misunderstandings, I think replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy is extremely important. Also, I have no interest in belittling mortality factors like cats, buildings etc.. It‘s just that the science of arriving at these estimates is very tricky. One frequently made mistake is lumping data from actual counts (like in one important source material https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.260) together with extrapolations. 1/3
Show threadChristian SchwägerlOct 6, 2023
@HonestHypocrite @Sheril @ingalls Another problem is that the data used in the main source https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/35192/NZP_Marra_2013-Estimates_of_bird_collision_mortality_at_wind_facilities_in_the_contiguous_United_States.pdf?sequence=1 is old (about 2010-12) and partly comes from industry, not scientific studies. The number of turbines has increased by ≈ a factor of 7 since then, and this is not taken into account 10 years on. Plus the problem that methodologies vary greatly between mortality factors. In terms of ornithology, a further problem is that bird ≠ bird.Cats might kill sparrows, turbines rare eagles. 2/2
Show threadChristian SchwägerlOct 6, 2023
@HonestHypocrite @Sheril @ingalls I find data quality not good enough to derive claims. Again, I have no agenda and would be delighted if bird/bat kill was low! What I dislike, however, is trying to sweep actual problems under the rug. We might decide to accept the kill rate to produce wind energy (and not start with saving energy) but we owe it to these beings to acknowledge their loss. Finally, all factors in list add up. Just because one is smaller than the other does not change the sum. 3/3
Show threadHonestHypocriteOct 6, 2023
@christianschwaegerl @Sheril @ingalls I appreciate your reply and your thought process. A principle I use in my business consulting is “If your decision would change if you had more precise data then you need to get better data”. In this case I think that if the focus is to save birds more effort needs to be put in controlling cats to a factor of 10,000. If we really think the issue is selective deaths of certain bird species then we need more data.
Show threadChristian SchwägerlOct 7, 2023
@HonestHypocrite @Sheril @ingalls Question here is whether this statistic can be used to downplay effects of turbines by pointing at other factors. My answer is that
- data quality in this specific statistic is low, so caution is needed
- a huge number (cats) doesn‘t make a big number (wind) factually „small“
- different causes of deaths affect different species, e.g. cats don‘t kill raptors but turbines do
- given declines in bird numbers all major causes of unnatural deaths sd be of concern
Show threadChristian SchwägerlOct 7, 2023
@HonestHypocrite @Sheril @ingalls That means it‘s not enough to just focus on cats as they are #1 in total numbers. It certainly doesn‘t mean stopping the move to renewable energy sources. Quite the opposite it needs to be accelerated to combat global heating. But there are real and severe problems for birds from turbines, they aren’t made small by other causes of mortality. So counter-measures are needed and deserve recognition, attention, effort and money.
Show threadGlennOct 6, 2023
@Sheril Cats are nightmares
Show threadLazarou Monkey Terror 🚀💙🌈Oct 6, 2023
@Sheril Anti-Humans pretending to care about dead birds when they only care about themselves.
Show threadDr. Eric J. Fielding, PhDOct 6, 2023
@Sheril I thought birds were fake. 🐦
Show threadLegionOct 6, 2023
@Sheril #cats who aren't wild or feral should be kept indoors, and outdoor colonies should be managed with #tnr. It always blows my mind that people let their pet cats free-roam and then are 'heartbroken' when s/he is run over, attacked by dogs, injured, infected, or lost. They deserve better from us. So do the birds.
Show threadDeborah MakariosOct 6, 2023
@minervakoenig @Sheril New Zealand is having a discussion about keeping cats indoors. But there isn't yet a solution for the rodent population explosion that would follow - and rodents are a terrible threat to our native wildlife.
Show threadLegionOct 7, 2023
@DMakarios @Sheril I believe there's a place for free roaming cats, managed with #tnr so that their population doesn't explode. Feral cats who can't be adopted and are habituated to /1
Show threadLegionOct 7, 2023
@DMakarios @Sheril living outdoors do actually have a niche in the ecosystem. The problem is that people think mass murder of these cats will stop their overpopulation. It won't./2
Show threadLegionOct 7, 2023
@DMakarios @Sheril Unless EVERY SINGLE CAT is killed at the same moment, there will always be litters being born. #tnr is a better solution. Hope NZ can follow the science and create a nationwide #tnr program.
Show thread🇳𝗮ꜟ𝖼𝘩Oct 6, 2023
@Sheril
Is that a lot? Seems to be a bit of a pointless statistic without context.
Show thread🇳𝗮ꜟ𝖼𝘩Oct 6, 2023

@Sheril
There are 7.2 billion birds in the us and Canada, according to an article in Science, so that means 1/3rd of the population is killed by cats every year.

I don't think so.

Show threadLZonjee - Antifa 🍋🍉🦀🔻Oct 6, 2023
@Sheril The biggest killing fields for birds are agriculture and urbanization+ human infrastructure. But cats are easier to target and to pretend the solution to it all is Keep Your Cats Indoors.
Show threadmmalcOct 6, 2023

@Sheril
It would be useful to add a line for birds killed by pollution caused directly by fossil fuel emissions, and for bonus points by climate change caused by fossil fuels.

As with many of these sorts of chart, omitting the "status quo" can be seriously misleading. Yes, turbines may kill birds, but we have to also consider how many are being culled now by the alternative.

Show threadmustafa_euOct 6, 2023
@Sheril and the death by car!
Show threadannie grayOct 7, 2023
@Sheril
This is why I'll never again have an outdoor cat. She's quite content inside.
Show threadXenotarOct 7, 2023
@Sheril it must qualify "birds" killed by each item. e.g. "Birds" killed by cats are urban birds, vultures, condors, eagles, seaguls are killed by wind turbines
Show threadSlidingspacesOct 7, 2023
@Sheril perspective is an enlightening thing.
Show threadGregOct 8, 2023
@Sheril it _should_ be a post against cats (or their owners for not 'taking measures')
Show threadJosef GarviOct 8, 2023
@Sheril
Good to know.
Show threadSchafstelze 🎗🖤Oct 8, 2023
@Sheril but even cats are not endangering birds. Mostly it is 'modern' agriculture and destruction of habitats. But those birds aren't counted, because they don't exist.
Show threadSérgio MachadoOct 16, 2023
@Sheril ummm and dogs ? Had a dog that appreciated very much birds …