Cell, TV towers pose risk for birds

CELL, TV TOWERS POSE RISK FOR BIRDS
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: Jim Puzzanghera]
Is the pursuit of fewer dropped calls leading to more dropping birds? The lights atop communications towers that warn pilots to stay away can have a come-hither effect on birds -- killing millions of migrating warblers, thrushes and other species every year. During bad weather, birds can mistake tower lights for the stars they use to navigate. They will circle a tower as if in a trance, often until they crash into the structure, its guy wires or other birds. Sometimes disoriented birds simply plummet to the ground from exhaustion. The fatally hypnotic effect of warning beacons on birds is not a new phenomenon; early lighthouses attracted swarms of birds. But as towers proliferate to accommodate an ever-growing number of mobile phones and other devices, conservationists say bird deaths are climbing. "We're talking about estimates of millions of birds dying because of these towers," said Paul Schmidt, assistant director for the migratory bird program at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which has pegged the annual deaths at 4 million to 50 million. Spurred by environmental groups, the Federal Communications Commission announced this month that it was considering new tower regulations. The agency is asking for more data about the effect of a tower's height and the use of steadying guy wires. And the commission is proposing that new and modified towers use more expensive white strobe lights instead of the steadily burning red ones now on most towers.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fi-birds27nov27,1,7636...
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