January 24, 2019
By M L Nestel
Death litters the base of the sky-mirroring Time Warner Center. (click here) Dozens of badly damaged songbirds bash into its panes and disappear when they meet Charlie Alamo's broom and dustbin.
"I've seen a lot of dead birds here," he told Newsweek last year.
Collecting chirpless birds has become part of the 43-year-old maintenance worker's routine at the Columbus Circle high-rise.
"Some of the birds just have the head left," he said while pointing toward the peregrine falcons nested above. Alamo's seen them routinely mutilate songbirds as snacks while also controlling the block's pigeon and squirrel populations.
Summer mornings must prove deceptive for the warblers and woodcocks here, because that's when Alamo says he collects most of the downed prey.
"I love birds," he said. "It's heartbreaking to see that."...
...At a stoplight on Tenth Avenue during a sunny afternoon drive, New York State Assemblywoman Deborah Glick winced at the laser glare off the looming Hudson Yards construction site.
That blinding moment compelled Glick to stop the proliferation bird-killing glass buildings. "We're seeing too many glass towers that seem to be the main focus of architects," she said.
Glick, who represents some bird-collision hot spots in both Lower Manhattan and Greenwich Village, last year introduced a bill that called for every building construction project in New York City to establish "bird collision deterrent safety measures" and use "bird-safe building materials and design features."
Its measures call for premium materials such as ultraviolet treated or fritted glass (the near-invisible porcelain ball patterns that birds can detect) when applied from the ground level to 50 feet high, where most collisions occur. Screens or netting are other makeshift ways to cut down on "one of the largest threats to bird populations in New York City."
"The reality is birds are dying," Glick said. "Bats are dying. Bees are dying. People are becoming aware of these things -- especially young people and the future is going to be in humans making things that are less damaging to the natural world."...
The vibrant colors and soft, (click here) musical warbles of the Eastern Bluebird are a welcome sight on a cold, snowy day. Bluebirds have long been considered harbingers of spring, and their willingness to nest in open, human-modified habitats makes them popular among birders and non-birders alike.
The female has the duller colors. It protects her and her nest.
