Disabled Warbler Uses Bicycle as Roost While Recovering

While bicycling about downtown Omaha on 25 October, to check for bird strikes, there were five birds found. There were only disabled, the other two were carcasses of former life.

An Orange-crowned Warbler and Dark-eyed Junco were found at the northeast corner of the Central Park Plaza, north tower. There were several passerby's - there is a coffee shop inside - while getting photos and getting ready to move the birds elsewhere so they could recover in safety.

One lady exiting the building was pulling a small suitcase on wheels, and before anything could be said, her foot was right on top of the warbler, and it seemed her show may have stepped on the bird. After a quick comment, she avoided the nearby junco.

The warbler, though obviously already suffering from having hit the building, seemed to miss having any further adverse affects.

After picking up the warbler so it could be taken elsewhere, the junco flew off.

A landscaped area a few blocks away, was where the warbled was taken. Upon being placed on a tree branch, it flew about 50 feet but landed on the grass lawn. It was then picked up again and after trying to put it back on the branch, it flew a few feet and precariously hung from a few leaves, until flying a few more feet and landing on the bicycle being used as transportation.

After being placed on the branch again, the bird remained in place.

The bicycle shown is a borrowed bike, since the front tire of my bicycle had been stolen earlier in the week, on Monday, October 20th, while at the Criss Library at UNO. This was a whole ordeal in itself. After leaving campus and partially carrying the one-wheeled bike, a campus security officer came up and said there had been a report of a stolen bicycle, and I was the match for the description of the so-called thief.

Within a minute there were two other security officers at the scene. The first one basically accused me of stealing the bike, since that was what had been reported by someone near the library. After a few minutes another security guy arrived.

The ordeal on Dodge Street at 62nd - which lasted at least fifteen minutes since they would not believe the bike was mine - was somewhat inane, since the security guys kept questioning whether the bike was actually mine, again and again. Rather than checking to see if a bicycle was really stolen, they wanted proof it was actually mine. Consider, 1) why would someone steal a bike without a front wheel; 2) the bike lock and cable were right there, and the cable had not been cut; 3) the security guys would not go to the rack to see the other tire that was hanging loose, having been removed but not taken (something to do with making sure they were all safe); and 4) they would not go the the scene to notice that there was no cut lock or cable at the supposed scene of the theft.

Consider also these points: 1) someone else stole the tire from my bicycle, and nothing was being done to find them; 2) someone makes an accusation of a bicycle theft, and the false report was believed; 3) the security guy said I had been at a bicycle rack west of the library looking at bikes there, when that was not the case, so this was a made-up detail since I did not even know where that rack was located; 4) the last security guy that arrived in a pickup, made an illegal left turn off Dodge street to reach the scene; and 5) once I was able to finally leave, the security guy that was haranguing me, made a comment that perhaps I should be banned from campus for being a trouble-maker. His reasoning: my id was not provided immediately upon request.

To summarize: my tire gets stolen and other people are in the wrong, and I get harassed. The situation and related events were discussed later in the week with a supervisor at the security office.

These details are provided since without a bicycle that provided my only transportation, it meant there was no means to get around to look for bird strikes. Riding the buss downtown and then walking about just was not adequate for a timely and more thorough search. No funds are available to purchase a new wheel.

On Thursday, Marjie Ducey let me borrow her unused bicycle. After figuring out how to get air into the tires, mobility returned. And because of having this bike, I was able to get around this morning, and to rescue three disabled birds. A special thanks to her for assistance by providing a bicycle for transportation.

Orange-crowned Warbler on bicycle in downtown Omaha.

It seemed somewhat special that this picture could get captured. It seems that perhaps the Orange-crowned Warbler appreciated the bike being available and useful it getting it taken to a safer place. This was shown by it also using the bike as a temporary spot to rest and catch some warm sun rays.

Long-Tailed Duck Depicted on Winning Duck Stamp

Long-Tailed Duck with Decoy, painting by Joshua Spies.

A dramatic acrylic painting of a Long-tailed Duck by Joshua Spies of South Dakota is the winner of the 2009-1010 “duck stamp” contest held by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

There were 270 entries in this year’s contest, and entrants had been asked to depict one of the following species of waterfowl: Canada Goose, Brant, Northern Shoveler, Ruddy Duck, or Long-tailed Duck. The first-through third-place entries are illustrated on the contest results page.

Funds raised through the mandatory purchase of the $15 duck stamp by waterfowl shootists, are used for habitat conservation. More than $750 million dollars has been raised by selling duck stamps, according to FWS figures. The stamps have been required since 1934.

“The Duck Stamp is a significant funding mechanism for the Service to acquire land for the National Wildlife Refuge System,” said Jim Leach, a refuge supervisor for the FWS and chairperson for the Federal Duck Stamp planning committee. “These lands provide critical habitat for migratory waterfowl and other wildlife. The lands are also open to the American public, and provide hunting, fishing, and environmental education opportunities. The contest to select the artwork involves the arts community, birders, nature enthusiasts, hunters, and stamp collectors.”

“Ninety-eight cents out of every dollar generated by the sales of Federal Duck Stamps goes directly to purchase or lease wetland habitat for protection in the National Wildlife Refuge System,” according to details on the duck stamp web page.

Spies, from Watertown, has a degree in fine arts degree from South Dakota State University. He previously competed in the federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp - better known as the duck stamp - contest, and previously placed first in the South Dakota duck stamp competition, and has been featured in “Wildlife Art” magazine, according to information on his website.

Judging was held and the winner was announced during a two-day contest held the weekend of October 18th, at the Bloomington Art Center, in Minnesota.

First posted on bloggernews.net

Mortality of Migratory Birds Continues at UNL Hazards

Recent bird strike. Carcass of a Brown Creeper at the UNL city campus.

A visit the UNL campus to view the measures that were put in place to address bird strikes indicates that bird mortality continues at place where some effort was made to reduce the extent of the hazards.

The first thing found was a dead Brown Creeper at the Cather-Pound-Neihardt walkway. Obviously the markers put on the glass at this site did nothing to help this bird. In looking closer at the south side of the walkway, there were several smears on the glass from bird droppings indicating other strikes. And it seems that one of the markers was also beginning to fall off. There were some feathers at a second place under the walkway. Additional carcasses were expected, but since there are many feral cats on campus, they probably got eaten, or thrown away.

The markers placed on the glass are not enough to adequately address the bird strikes at this building hazard. There are not enough, and they obviously do not sufficiently make the glass opaque to significantly reduce the extent of impacts. Whether they are making any difference is not known.

Glass of the CPN walkway with obvious smears from bird droppings that occur at a bird strike. Click on the image for a better view.

View of the CPN walkway on October 19, 2008.

The same situation applies at the Hamilton Hall walkways. No carcasses here either, and for the same reason. The extent of markers here is also pretty sparse, and do not appear to be sufficient enough to make a significant impact.

Obviously the Fish and Wildlife Service did not followup on this effort to evaluate whether it was a substantive effort that would seriously address the very significant bird strike issue on city campus. This reflects an ongoing "whatever" attitude by this agency on the bird strike problem.

View of the markers placed on the north walkway at Hamilton Hall.

The grade for the effort by UNL is a D since at least some effort was taken, but it was a measly effort and not enough to get a passing grade. There was not enough preparation made to find a solution that would be immediately effective and with lasting impact. The decals were put up later than expected. The most simplistic and cheap option was selected. There has also been no followup evaluation to see what the actual results are. Also the dead creeper is a significant negative on any grade. Facilities needs to try again, and this time try to at least get a passing grade...

The grade for the FWS is a C, since they made some effort to address the problem, but did not provide specific suggestions for measures that would be most effective (providing a copy of suggested guidelines is not enough), there was no followup on what was done, and they have not made any effort to continue to work with UNL to ensure the extent of bird strikes is significantly reduced at the earliest possible time.

The wild birds continue to die from bird strikes at the UNL City Campus.

Resident Creates Martin Haven in Avoca

For the “martin man of Avoca,” purple martins have been a passion for more than six decades, building his first martin house as a youngster.

Ed Garrison started his life-long pursuit while a youngster in Omaha. “I got interested in purple martins when I was about 8 years old, and I will be 70 in November,” he said. “My mother’s cousin was a bird enthusiast. He taught and showed me very many things about all birds. I built my first martin house at about the same time. It was a three-pound coffee can turned upside down on a wide board, I cut a 2" square hole in it and believe it or not I got a pair of martins! With martins established next door that made it a lot easier.”

His first martin house in Avoca was put in place in the spring of 1999, after Ed and his wife Diane, moved in January to the town in western Iowa.

“At that time there wasn't ten pair of martins in the whole town, but I did manage to get two pair that first year, and the numbers have been growing ever since.”

Garrison has “helped other people in town to start martin colonies to the extent that our little town of Avoca produced close to 400 pair this year.”

Photo courtesy of Ed Garrison.

Avoca has “11 martin colonies and most of them are multiple housing included six gourd racks with 32 - 40 gourds per rack,” Garrison said. He has answered a lot of questions from people interested in these birds, although he has not presented any formal programs.

In 2007 and 2008, the houses at the Garrison residence had over 110 pair, but there is housing available for 170 pair.

“My home sits on a slope and I have a large patio that I can sit and watch the martins doing their aerial ballet and socializing. The month of May is especially entertaining as the martins are busy building nests and finding mates. “

He also makes recommendations to help people get their own nesting colony. “I will even go to their home and show them the best place to put up a martin house. During the martin season I have a lot of people stop by just to watch the martins. A favorite destination of the nesting season is the place of some good friends in town, to watch the birds as he has a large colony.”

Garrison’s decades of experience provide the basis for some basic recommendations to attract and help martins thrive.

“The easiest martin houses to manage and take care of are the metal or plastic houses,” Garrison explained in an email. “However, I don't care for them for several reasons. If a martin has a choice, they will take to wood or gourds first. The large purple martin gourds will produce more young than the wood or metal housing. The wood houses are next. The metal and plastic produce the least young. This information also comes from the University of Pennsylvania. I also believe anybody building or buying a purple martin house should get one with starling resistant holes, as starlings can destroy a martin colony. Sparrows are not as bad, but if you have sparrow problems, trap them and clean their nest out every other day or so and stop feeding them when it gets close to the martins arrival time,” which is usually about mid- to late-March. "All starling and sparrow populations should be dealt with by that time."

The “martin man of Avoca” said he “would be more than glad to have them stop by and watch the birds or ask questions, or to show them around town to the other martin colonies if they should so wish. Also, about five miles north of Avoca there is a blue heron colony which some would find interesting, but may be a little difficult to get to. If anyone wants to stop by my home on South Maple Street – the first house north of the high school - and martin colony,” it is on the west side of the Pottawattamie County fairgrounds.

“Purple martins are the most enjoyable, interesting, entertaining birds we have in Iowa,” Garrison said.

Roost of Purple Martins at Midtown Omaha an Autumn Thrill

The first known occurrence of many thousands of Purple Martins at a readily accessible roost in midtown Omaha was a thrill for many bird enthusiasts of Omaha and Council Bluffs. After the initial public report of the roost and its thousands of the birds, there was a regular crowd each evening to watch the arrival of the birds, and the aerial spectacle of birds flying about in the cerulean skies and then descending quickly into the roost trees.

Indications of Roosting

The first indication of numbers of martins in midtown occurred 10 August, when at least 450 were noted in the Carthage neighborhood near 50th and Cuming Streets. On the next two subsequent days, additional numbers were seen above Dundee, east of 50th Street and Underwood Avenue.

The first thousands were seen in the evening from a vantage point on Izard Street at 44th, in the south Walnut Hill neighborhood. On the 16th the approximate count was 1750 in bunches, moving southward; 740 from ca. 7:45 to 8:25 p.m. on the 19th; and 1700 on the 20th from ca. 7:45 to 8:25 p.m. On the 21st, there were only about 200 in the Walnut Hill vicinity, but about 2000 in the airspace east of the cathedral at 40th and Webster Streets.

With the martins being seen so late in the evening - after checking details of roost details on the internet - there were indications there might be a roost in the local area. One possibility was the many trees at the Joslyn Castle grounds. Although no roosting was occurring there on the evening of the 22nd, large numbers were seen in the airspace to the west.

Scene of the midtown Purple Martin roost at Omaha. The roost is the trees below the skywalk just to the right of the powerline pole, and just above the middle of the picture.

Early in the morning of the 23rd, the search route went southward along Saddle Creek road, and upon getting closer to Dodge Street, more martins were seen, and could be heard at pre-dawn when there was little vehicular traffic and very little city noise. Proceeding onward, about 17,500 were seen - in an approximate count of groups - departing from less than ten ash trees on the southeast corner of 44th and Farnam Streets.

Visits were made each evening to the roost site on subsequent dates, to evaluate the number of birds. The following counts - approximate numbers based on counting groups and by comparisons from night to night - were kept:

08/26/2008 - 17,500: minimum noted expected at martin roost

08/25/2008 - 18,500: approximate number counted, by bunches, from 6:05 to 6:40 a.m.

08/29/2008 - 25,000: group consensus on minimal number

09/02/2008 - 35,000: evening at the roost

09/06/2008 - 8000: into the evening roost

09/07/2008 - 7500: into the evening roost; 20 people watching

09/08/2008 - 10,000: into the evening roost with great zeal

09/10/2008 - 12,500: into the evening roost; ten people watching activity done by 7:50 p.m.

09/12/2008 - 10,000: on a misty, cloudy night; birds arrive and swoop around once or twice and then swoop into a roost tree on these rainy evenings; four people watching

09/13/2008 - 7500: late arriving groups on a clear night; 100 about 7:20 p.m., and finished about 7:55 p.m.; small groups were still arriving after the main bunch was already in the trees.

09/14/2008 - 1100: four watchers at the roost under a clear evening sky.

09/15/2008 - 1100: seven watchers during 7 to 7:45 p.m. interlude.

09/16/2008 - 7500: six watchers, plus other transient viewers; arrived a bit after 7 p.m.; swooping about and not into trees until after 7:30 p.m.; more moving about among the trees than usual; no strikes despite birds swooping over the north skywalk.

09/17/2008 - 1000: action mostly from 7:15 to 7:45 p.m.; nine watchers, including a couple with two pre-schoolers.

09/18/2008 - 1000: four people watching at the evening roost.

The television tower upon which the martins would roost and flit about, prior to their winging into the roost, two blocks eastward, as the martin flies.

09/19/2008 - 1000: first notice that about 100 martins were sitting on KPTM television broadcast tower two blocks to the west, and some others flying about the site before flying over to roost; four people watching.

09/20/2008 - 1000: into roost 7:20 to 7:40 p.m.; ca. 100 first sit and flit about KPTM tower two blocks to the west, and some other flying about the site; three people watching.

09/21/2008 - 500: after swirls and circles of aerial flight, into roost 7:20 to 7:40 p.m. About 100 birds were sitting on the television tower with some others flitting about there. Only two watchers this evening and the rest of the evenings until the martins were gone.

09/22/2008 - 500: after swirls and circles of aerial flight, into roost 7:20 to 7:40 p.m.; ca. 100 first sit and flit about KPTM tower two blocks to the west, and some other flying about the site; three people watching.

09/23/2008 - 500: a few tower sitting at 6:50; finished by 7:30 p.m., since the sunset was earlier.

09/24/2008 - 125: from about 7:10 to 7:30 p.m.

09/25/2008 - 65: flying up high in the aerial realm, then with a quick swoop in, done at 7:30 p.m.

09/26/2008 - 65: flying up high, then with a quick swoop in, done at 7:30 p.m.

09/27/2008 - 5: four then another one; only three seen coming in by the two watchers; done at 7:20 p.m. on a nice evening for watching.

There were no martins at this locale on subsequent dates.

During the entire period, an approximate 150 people watched the birds at the roost. Some of these were people that certainly enjoyed watching these birds, and returned on several occasions. The largest number was on October 7th, when the 20 people were present, including a television reporter. Only two of these people were present every evening once the public became aware of the roost location. There was only one watcher that was there very night after the discovery of the roost location.

Any concerns of campus security were quickly assuaged once they realized why there was a congregation on campus grounds. People had first gathered on the public sidewalk along 44th Street, across from the campus trees where the martins spent the nights. After they had stopped and asked a couple of time why we were standing there on the medical center grounds, they understood the reason on subsequent nights. It wasn't until near the end of the martins gathering, that an a security man stopped again and asked. That was the last time this happened.

A slight advantage of the roost locale was accessibility. There was ample parking right at the spot, and some visitors parked at a lot across the corner to the northwest.

One of the special treats for those that came to enjoy the martins again and again were delicious treats. Twice there was homemade, flaky crust peach pie. And a couple of times, an ample bunch of fresh, home-grown tomatoes to take home were provided by the martin man from Council Bluffs, Dennis Devine. After working with martins for about 35 years, this was his first opportunity to enjoy thousands gathered at a roost. He provided information on purple martins to many of the visitors to the roost site.

Additional Roost Notes

On August 18th, 2007, there was an estimated 2000-4000 martins noted by Justin Rink above the Joslyn Castle grounds on 40th Street. Then two days later, on the evening of August 20th, there were an estimated 12,000-15,000 martins noted by birder Rink, swarming over the Indian Creek Nursery, just four blocks northwest of 44th and Farnam.

These two reports indicate the probability that the martins may have been using the midtown roost site last year as well.

There was a report of an additional, smaller roost at Lake Manawa, in Iowa. This site was checked on 13th September, and a group of at least 500 birds was located in a cottonwood tree on the west side of the lake, by Babs and Loren Padelford.

The Padelfords had first noted roosting martins at the lake in mid-August 1977, when thousands were present. About 6000 were counted on 8 August 1978. There were an approximate 2000 birds at the Lake Manawa Roost on 5 August 1991 and again on the 30th of the same month. Several hundred were counted here in the same time period, in 1994, 1995, and 2003.

This is the only other martin roost in the region where more than 1000 birds have been known to occur.

Bird Strikes

Upon finding the roost on the 23rd, there was also indications of mortality from birds striking the skywalk between the Kiewit Tower and the Clarkson Doctor's Building South. There were four carcasses on the street beneath the skywalk.

It is very likely that additional strikes occurred before the roost was discovered on August 23rd, since the birds had probably been present for a week or two, and that the carcasses had been thrown away by maintenance staff.

This is the tally of known strikes:

8/23: 4

8/25: 5

8/26: 3

8/28: 3

After the few couple of days of seeing the number of strikes, and they were continuing, contact was made with officials of the Nebraska Medical Center to inform them that birds were being killed at a hazardous locale, and suggesting that something should be done. After the skeptical response, information was also provided to an official of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who also contacted the Medical Center and informed that of aspects of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and how this applied to the negative impacts on the martins.

In response, some banners were eventually hung on the inside of the skywalk, on the west side. The preliminary view was that this effort was working, since the strikes stopped.

It is possible that this interlude was a result of birds realizing that the skywalk was a hazard and avoiding it. The strikes seemed to reoccur when the number of birds decreased, but subtle variations in behavior suggested that some new birds had arrived, and were not familiar with the setting, resulting in bird strikes happening again. This was also when it was realized that the banners were not being effective, and seemed to influence what-so-ever on making the glass walkway visible enough for the birds to avoid a collision. Based on numbers of known strikes, there were more after the banners were put in place.

9/04: 5

9/05: 1

9/07: 4, all at the south skywalk

9/08: 8

9/09: 2

9/13: 9, most of these were stunned birds, some which could fly and leave the site in a few moments, although four were held for a time until being released or placed on a branch of a roost tree

By being present at the roost site when the birds arrived and were flying about before alighting into the trees, any birds that did strike the glass of the skywalk could be retrieved and moved away from the concrete of the roadway to allow them to recover, and to make certain there were not run over by a passing vehicle. The roadway has a regular volume of traffic going to and from a parking garage.

The result of more than half of the strikes was a dead martin.

Seven of the strikes occurred at the north end of the south skywalk between the Kiewit Tower and Clarkson Tower. Dates of these events were the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 13th of September. There was no effort to place banners or other items to make this locale less of a hazard to the flying birds.

Although there were a couple of thousands European starlings and many hundreds of common grackles, there were no instances seen where they had struck the glass skywalks.

Looking Ahead

Purple martins are known to continue to use the same roost sites for many years. If the martins would occur again next autumn, the locale should be visited earlier in August to discover when the roosting behavior starts.

To address bird strikes, an effective means of indicating the presence of the skywalks will be necessary. Instead of banners, an option that would work well would be dark-colored window blinds that could be kept open during the day for visibility, and then simply closed to block the view through the glass and make it readily apparent to the martins as they fly about between the towering buildings. This would require only about ten blinds to cover the windows on the west side of the north skywalk, and for the north windows at the south skywalk.

The purple martin roost is a unique spectacle for Omaha, and the local region since there is no other roost of this magnitude known in a multi-state region. The martins need to be truly appreciated and despite what is left behind by the number of birds, when considering the martins, grackles and starlings. The setting needs to be safe, not a hazard where unsuspecting birds are injured or killed. This can be readily accomplished and would be greatly appreciated by the many martin enthusiasts of the river city.

Martinesque skies on a late-September evening at midtown Omaha.

Bird Strikes Continue Unabated at Omaha in September

Bird strikes at Omaha, Nebraska, continued unabated during September with at least 154 known occurrences. This averages more than five for each of the thirty days. Although there were a couple of days with no carcasses found, other days had a large number of birds which struck a building hazard.

There were 28 other species recorded during the month. The greatest number of strikes took place at the Purple Martin roost in Midtown, despite obviously ineffective efforts to address the known problem site at a skywalk.

Species: Number of Strikes Purple Martin: 30 Common Yellowthroat: 27 Nashville Warbler: 22 Lincoln's Sparrow: 11 Mourning Warbler: 7 Wilson's Warbler: 6 Clay-colored Sparrow: 6 Ovenbird: 5 Common Grackle: 4 Brown Thrasher: 3 House Wren: 3 Mourning Dove: 3 Marsh Wren: 3

Eastern Wood-Pewee: 2 Sedge Wren: 2 Baltimore Oriole: 2 Song Sparrow: 2 Ruby-throated Hummingbird: 1 Great Crested Flycatcher: 1 Gray Catbird: 1 Northern Waterthrush: 1 Orange-crowned Warbler: 1 Yellow Warbler: 1 Sora: 1 Chimney Swift: 1 Virginia Rail: 1 Brown Creeper: 1 Blue Grosbeak: 1

Date Located - Number 09/03/2008 - 3 09/04/2008 - 9 09/05/2008 - 1 09/06/2008 - 9 09/07/2008 - 5 09/08/2008 - 8 09/09/2008 - 4 09/12/2008 - 7 09/13/2008 - 17 09/14/2008 - 8 09/15/2008 - 2 09/16/2008 - 4 09/21/2008 - 2 09/23/2008 - 2 09/25/2008 - 23 09/26/2008 - 13 09/27/2008 - 8 09/28/2008 - 16 09/29/2008 - 5 09/30/2008 - 8

Although there was quite a variety of species, warblers and sparrows were noted most often. The Sedge Wren, Ruby-throated Hummingbird and Brown Creeper were species which had not been previously found.

About mid-month, the extent of bird strikes had a notable spike. There were 17 on this date, with numbers continuing above the norm for the remainder of the month. By the 25th, when an unbelievable tally of 23 occurred, autumn migration was obviously in full swing.

These bird strikes occurred at 26 known buildings. The Qwest Center Omaha continues to be the most deadly place for migratory birds in downtown.

1. Qwest Center Omaha: 39 known bird strikes; additional occurrences would be expected since birds that would strike glass above the doorways, would fall onto the overhang, and would not be found on the sidewalk
2. Kiewit-Clarkson Skywalk: 23
3. Union Pacific Center: 15
4. Central Park Plaza: 14
5. Omaha Public Power District headquarters: 8
6. Kiewit-Clarkson South Skywalk: 7
7. Zorinsky Federal Building: 6
8. Omaha World-Herald Freedom Center: 6
9. Holland Center for Performing Arts: 5
10. First National Tower: 5; bird strikes had been expected here because of a glass building exterior and interior landscaping at the atrium on the north side. There were some carcasses and a single stunned bird found. Carcasses were also found on the east side. Nothing had been located in the previous four months. One reason nothing had been found previously is probably also due to the building owners have the exterior sidewalk and local environs cleaned every morning during the business week. Additional strikes may occur, but because of ledges, birds which strike this skyscraper would not fall to the street level, and thus not seen and tallied.

    Map of Bird Strikes for September View a larger version of the map.

11. 1200 Landmark Center: 5
12. Creighton Harper Center: 4
13. Woodmen Tower Skywalk: 2
14. Omaha World-Herald Building: 2
15. J.P. Cooke Company: 2
16. What-Cheer*: 1
17. Urban Outfitters*: 1
18. Union Plaza Apartments: 1
19. Slowdown Lounge*: 1
20. Saddle Creek Nursery: 1
21. Metropolitan Utilities District building: 1
22. Laurie and Charles Photographs: 1
23. Kimball Lofts: 1
24. First National Bank: 1
25. Federal Building: 1
26. American Apparel*: 1

* at the Slowdown Complex in North Downtown

There have been no changes to alter any of the building locations that are a known hazard to the variety of migratory birds which occur in the Missouri River valley at Omaha. Despite the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service asking officials at Qwest and the Omaha World-Herald company to address problem areas by the end of September - places which they had been informed of in July - nothing had been put in place by the requested date.

For May through September, there have been 321 known strikes, or more than 60 per month, which averages to two strikes per day. During May, there were 102 known instances. The greatest number have been at the following locales during these five months:

1. Qwest Center Omaha: 91 known bird strikes
2. Kiewit-Clarkson Skywalk: 38
3. Central Park Plaza: 26
4. Union Pacific Center: 25
5. 1200 Landmark Center: 21
6. Omaha World-Herald Freedom Center: 20
7. Holland Center for Performing Arts: 15
8. Omaha Public Power District headquarters: 12
9. Omaha World-Herald Building: 9
10. Woodmen Tower Skywalk: 8
11. Zorinsky Federal Building: 8

There have been 56 species noted thus far while this volunteer effort has been conducted. No financial assistance has been provided to support this endeavour.

Officials with the Fish and Wildlife Service - the federal agency responsible for enforcement of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act - have only been in contact with officials at Qwest and the World-Herald company.