Deathtraps for Migrating Birds: Study Shows Toll from Downtown Buildings

Left: Melissa Breyer, a volunteer monitor for the Audubon Society's Project Safe Flight program, photographed this black-throated green warbler, which had crashed into 3 World Trade Center last month. Right: 3 and 4 World Trade Center, two buildings that the Audubon Society cites as especially hazardous to migrating birds. Photos: Melissa Breyer (bird); Carl Glassman/Tribeca Trib (buildings)

“Good morning,” Heather Davidson said, cheerfully greeting a doorman at 1 World Trade Center. “Have you seen any dead birds lately?”

For Davidson and the 10 other volunteer monitors in the Audubon Society's Project [1]Safe Flight program [1] in Lower Manhattan, it was a routine question. Each morning, during the spring and fall migrating seasons, they search for the feathered victims of Downtown skyscrapers, the deadly crash sites for hundreds of warblers, thrushes and other migrating birds. Monitors like Davidson meticulously document each casualty—dead or injured—with the aim of compiling enough data to convince owners to help collision-proof their buildings.

One recent morning, beginning at 7 a.m., I followed Davidson as she briskly walked her once-a-week World Trade Center route. After circling 4 World Trade Center, she scanned the perimeters of the other three towers. If she runs across a worker cleaning the sidewalk, she asks if he’s come across a carcass, often peeking into his dust pan for good measure. 

“If we don’t get out there early enough the janitorial staff will come sweep them up and that affects the count,” said Davidson, who lives in Battery Park City. “So it’s likely that any of the counts that we provide are underestimations of the birds that were killed.”

Monitors carry a tally sheet, along with small brown paper bags for the birds, most of which are found dead. The injured ones are taken to the Wild Bird Fund [2] on the Upper West Side for treatment. But some are merely stunned. “When you hear them kicking around you know that they’re recovered and you let them go,” Davidson said. On this day, she did not find even one bird—dead or injured. On others, she’s discovered more than 70. 

“I didn’t need any of my supplies,” she announced. “I’m so happy.”

Still, the number of building hits at the World Trade Center and across the street at Brookfield Place are alarmingly high, said Kaitlyn Parkins, associate director of conservation and science at the New York City Audubon Society. 

“They are some of the worst buildings in New York City,” she said in a phone interview. “They’re not the only bad buildings in the city, but they are definitely at the top of the list.” 

(Other Lower Manhattan buildings being monitored include 200 West Street, 55 Water Street, 101 Barclay Street, and 180 Maiden Lane.)

Parkins said the Audubon Society has been in touch with building representatives and “it’s so far been receptive and positive. We hope they will actually do more than just listen to us, and make changes.”

Fixes can include special treatments to the glass and the dimming of interior lights at night, experts say. 

Spokesmen for Silverstein Properties, owners of 3, 4 and 7 World Trade Center, and Brookfield Properties did not respond to requests for comment.

There are several factors, Parkins said, that make the buildings especially lethal to migrating birds. “The fact that they have trees and small parks nearby, that the buildings have reflective glass, and that the area is brightly lit at night is what attracts birds. All of these things can contribute to a high rate of collision with the buildings.” (Parkins is scheduled to discuss the issue at Community Board 1’s Environmental Protection Committee on Oct. 18. The 6 p.m. meeting can be accessed here [3].)

For graphic proof, take a look at the Twitter [4] and Instagram [5] posts of Melissa Breyer, who also monitors the World Trade Center as well as other Downtown buildings. Her pictures show feathered corpses by the dozens which she has neatly laid out as documentary evidence. On a single morning, she said, she found nearly 300 birds. She brought the roughly 30 surviving ones to the Wild Bird Fund for rehabilitation.

This is Breyer’s third migratory season with the Project Safe Flight program, which she calls “the other side of birding.” She monitors the Downtown sites five days a week and even dedicates a freezer in her Brooklyn apartment for the dead birds that she collects and photographs before bringing them to the Audubon Society.

“It’s really sad when you see these little travelers who are doing this herculean effort to get from Point A to Point B, and get caught up in our dumb buildings,” Breyer said. 

“But after doing monitoring for so long I’m really fueled by the advocacy part,” she added. “So the more data we can collect, the more these birds don't have to die in vain.”

Go here [1] for more information on the Audubon Society’s Project Safe Flight collision monitoring program. Volunteer training sessions for the spring migrating season begin in March.

When you have 226 dead window-struck migratory birds from one morning, it’s hard to get them all in one photo. @_WTCOfficial [6] — lights can be turned off, windows can be treated. Please do something. @4WTC [7] and @3wtcnewyork [8] don’t let this be your legacy. @NYCAudubon [9] @wildbirdfund [10] pic.twitter.com/Qiu8Wqmilf [11]

— Melissa Breyer (@MelissaBreyer) September 14, 2021 [12]