Communication towers, lights, and birds: successful methods of reducing the frequency of avian collisions
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Published source details
Gehring J., Kerlinger P. & Manville II A.M. (2009) Communication towers, lights, and birds: successful methods of reducing the frequency of avian collisions. Ecological Applications, 19, 505-514.
Published source details Gehring J., Kerlinger P. & Manville II A.M. (2009) Communication towers, lights, and birds: successful methods of reducing the frequency of avian collisions. Ecological Applications, 19, 505-514.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.
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Use flashing lights to reduce mortality from artificial lights Action Link |
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Use flashing lights to reduce mortality from artificial lights
A randomised, replicated and controlled trial on 24 control towers in Michigan, USA, during May and September 2005 (Gehring et al. 2009) found that there were significantly fewer bird carcasses found beneath towers lit with red or white flashing lights, compared with control towers using the Federal Aviation Administration standard of red flashing lights combined with non-flashing red lights (average mortality of 3.7 birds/tower for experimental towers vs. 13 birds/tower for controls). There were no differences between three different flashing-light treatments. Three tall (> 305 m) towers with non-flashing lights caused significantly more fatalities than any of the smaller towers. The majority of birds killed were night-migrating songbirds but also included gamebirds and woodpeckers.
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