Thinking Harder

Hundreds of Birds Killed by School's Artificial Lights
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By Ben Harder

October 3, 2008 Comment (8)

The Charlestown (W. Va.) Daily Mail reported that "hundreds" of yellow warblers and other migratory birds died this week when they flew into a lighted school building that sits on a hill in Hambleton, W. Va. It appears that the slaughter was an example of a phenomenon known as bird kill or tower kill, in which nocturnal birds that find their way by natural light become disoriented by artificial lighting and crash into illuminated structures.

The Daily Mail reported that Assistant Principal Mickel Bonnett arrived at Tucker County High School about 6:30 a.m. Monday and saw birds smacking into the side of the building. "Bonnett said he thought the birds were attracted to the lights inside the school as it was dark outside," the paper reported.

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Tags:

birds,

pollution,

West Virginia,

animals

Thinking Harder

This blog is the public workshop of U.S. News writer and editor Ben Harder. In articles published in the magazine, he has covered a range of sciences, including medicine, human behavior, prehistory, and evolution. Here, he can explore those and other scientific fields more fully and more informally than is possible in print. He'll share whatever seems noteworthy or potentially useful, and he invites readers to do the same.

WTOP Audio
On Feb. 24, 2008, Ben discussed the link between artificial light and cancer on WTOP radio. Listen to the interview at WTOP News. He again talked about light pollution on WTOP on March 22, exploring its environmental effects.