In 2011, bird-strikes in Omaha started with a bang on April 18th, with a dead Mourning Dove in the morning at the Qwest Center, as usual, on the west side. A few days later, dead warblers were found at the Union Pacific Center. It took nothing but time for other buildings to get their own claim of unnecessary recognition - once again - as birds struck elsewhere, again and again.
Strike instances, as usual, were dramatically notable throughout May. The worst days during the past season - including some of the species killed by hitting a building - were:
- Date - Number of Noted Bird-strikes
- 05/09 - 7: Blue Grosbeak, Common Yellowthroat, Gray Catbird, Lincoln's Sparrow, Indigo Bunting, Rose-breasted Grosbeak
- 05/10 - 7: Clay-colored Sparrow, Common Yellowthroat, Lincoln's Sparrow, Mourning Warbler
- 05/30 - 7: Common Yellowthroat, Dickcissel, Indigo Bunting, Sedge Wren, Willow Flycatcher, Yellow-billed Cuckoo
- 05/28 - 6
- 09/05 - 6
- 09/10 - 6
- 05/19 - 5
- 05/24 - 5
- 09/04 - 5
- 05/12 - 5
- 08/27 - 5
- 09/13 - 4
- 05/16 - 4
- 09/22 - 4
The tally continued for weeks and months, with twenty-two buildings represented for the 2011 season as typically documented by forays and methods which shall not be explained.
- Building: Number of Known Bird-strikes during 2011
- 1200 Landmark Center: 7
- All Makes Office Equipment Company: 1
- Brandeis Building: 1
- Central Park Plaza: 7
- DJ's Dugout Sports Bar: 2
- DLR Group Building: 1
- First National Tower: 6
- Gottschalk Freedom Center: 6
- Holland Performing Arts Center: 9
- Kiewit-Clarkson Skywalk: 10
- Law Building: 4
- OBI Creative Building: 1
- Omaha Public Power District Energy Plaza: 3
- Omaha World-Herald Building: 3
- Omaha-Douglas Civic Center: 3
- Qwest/Centurylink Center Omaha: 34
- Redfield and Company Building: 4
- Sorrell Center at UNMC: 1
- Union Pacific Center: 9
- UNO Health, Physical Education and Recreation Building: 3
- Woodmen Tower Skywalk: 1
- Zorinsky Federal Building: 9
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The Qwest/Centurylink Center continues to be the most hazardous place in the city for migratory birds. Facility officials have placed some decals on upper portions of windows on the west side, but none were placed on the lower portion of the facade ... where a visual barrier is most essential.
Many of the species recorded here are sparrows and other sorts associated with the ground of lower extent of vegetation. They are attracted to the short tree and ground cover landscaping a few yards west of the glass exterior, and then hit the building while attempting to continue their journey.
Second on the list is the Kiewit-Clarkson Skywalk, but most of these instances are observations of stunned Purple Martins hitting the structure. When officials where informed of the situation, they made additional efforts to place material in the windows to create a visual barrier. There were few actual fatalities.
Several of worst offenders continue to ignore the deaths their building cause, as they have done nothing to address a situation of which they are well aware. They have been informed through phone calls and emails. For this reason, owners of the following buildings receive recognition for being a "Death Zone Building" for the 2011 season:
- 1200 Landmark Center; building managers have gone out of their way to avoid any responsibility, including not providing contact information
- Central Park Plaza; indifference is their mode of operation
- Holland Performing Arts Center; they got money to build the place, yet have no funds to make it bird-safe
- First National Tower, the headquarters of the First National Bank. This business also gets the "double-talk" award for their lots of talk, yet doing nothing to reflect "empty words" spoken by a corporate "mouth"; and
- Zorinsky Federal Building; a federal building where hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent to change the exterior, yet no effort was made to address the hazards known to cause bird deaths. At least during the season, the federal security knew what was happening when carcasses were being noted and photographed, so there was no harangue at those times.
The newest DZB is the HPER building at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Why an architect would place a vast expanse of glass facing a park might be understood, but it was done by someone ignornant of the environmental setting for birds in the area. University officials also deserve a hefty dose of blame, as they were indifferent to the situation, based upon subsequent email and phone conversations, after the first bits of feathers and bones were found beneath the panes of glass on the side side of the building.
How typical!
Colorful and unique birds of many species were struck dead during April-November.
The number of species recorded each year has varied.
Year |
Number of Species |
2008 |
64 |
2009 |
63 |
2010 |
38 |
2011 |
40 |
Overall |
87 |
The biggest influence in the number of species is the number of mornings spent looking. Efforts declined in the past two years, due to out-of-town ventures and something akin to malaise or rationale?
A Hairy Woodpecker found at the Qwest/Centurylink Center in mid-September, was the most recent addition to the overall list of species being struck dead at river city buildings.
The 2011 bird-strike season ended with a five bird carcasses at the newly dubbed Centurylink Center (i.e., Qwest Center). The fatalities were the Lincoln's Sparrow, Eastern Towhee and American Tree Sparrow.
During the years denoted at Omaha, over 1100 bird-strike instances have been personally observed and recorded, with many pictures available to document the carnage. The prognosis: fatalities will continue next year and forever...
Each of the many bird strikes, the unnecessary and individual agony by each bird which became a fatality - in agony until an eventual death - has not been ignored, nor will it be forgotten.
In 2011, bird-strikes in Omaha started with a bang on April 18th, with a dead Mourning Dove in the morning at the Qwest Center, as usual, on the west side. A few days later, dead warblers were found at the Union Pacific Center. It took nothing but time for other buildings to get their own claim of unnecessary recognition - once again - as birds struck elsewhere, again and again.
Strike instances, as usual, were dramatically notable throughout May. The worst days during the past season - including some of the species killed by hitting a building - were:
- Date - Number of Noted Bird-strikes
- 05/09 - 7: Blue Grosbeak, Common Yellowthroat, Gray Catbird, Lincoln's Sparrow, Indigo Bunting, Rose-breasted Grosbeak
- 05/10 - 7: Clay-colored Sparrow, Common Yellowthroat, Lincoln's Sparrow, Mourning Warbler
- 05/30 - 7: Common Yellowthroat, Dickcissel, Indigo Bunting, Sedge Wren, Willow Flycatcher, Yellow-billed Cuckoo
- 05/28 - 6
- 09/05 - 6
- 09/10 - 6
- 05/19 - 5
- 05/24 - 5
- 09/04 - 5
- 05/12 - 5
- 08/27 - 5
- 09/13 - 4
- 05/16 - 4
- 09/22 - 4
The tally continued for weeks and months, with twenty-two buildings represented for the 2011 season as typically documented by forays and methods which shall not be explained.
- Building: Number of Known Bird-strikes during 2011
- 1200 Landmark Center: 7
- All Makes Office Equipment Company: 1
- Brandeis Building: 1
- Central Park Plaza: 7
- DJ's Dugout Sports Bar: 2
- DLR Group Building: 1
- First National Tower: 6
- Gottschalk Freedom Center: 6
- Holland Performing Arts Center: 9
- Kiewit-Clarkson Skywalk: 10
- Law Building: 4
- OBI Creative Building: 1
- Omaha Public Power District Energy Plaza: 3
- Omaha World-Herald Building: 3
- Omaha-Douglas Civic Center: 3
- Qwest/Centurylink Center Omaha: 34
- Redfield and Company Building: 4
- Sorrell Center at UNMC: 1
- Union Pacific Center: 9
- UNO Health, Physical Education and Recreation Building: 3
- Woodmen Tower Skywalk: 1
- Zorinsky Federal Building: 9
The Qwest/Centurylink Center continues to be the most hazardous place in the city for migratory birds. Facility officials have placed some decals on upper portions of windows on the west side, but none were placed on the lower portion of the facade ... where a visual barrier is most essential.
Many of the species recorded here are sparrows and other sorts associated with the ground of lower extent of vegetation. They are attracted to the short tree and ground cover landscaping a few yards west of the glass exterior, and then hit the building while attempting to continue their journey.
Second on the list is the Kiewit-Clarkson Skywalk, but most of these instances are observations of stunned Purple Martins hitting the structure. When officials where informed of the situation, they made additional efforts to place material in the windows to create a visual barrier. There were few actual fatalities.
Several of worst offenders continue to ignore the deaths their building cause, as they have done nothing to address a situation of which they are well aware. They have been informed through phone calls and emails. For this reason, owners of the following buildings receive recognition for being a "Death Zone Building" for the 2011 season:
- 1200 Landmark Center; building managers have gone out of their way to avoid any responsibility, including not providing contact information
- Central Park Plaza; indifference is their mode of operation
- Holland Performing Arts Center; they got money to build the place, yet have no funds to make it bird-safe
- First National Tower, the headquarters of the First National Bank. This business also gets the "double-talk" award for their lots of talk, yet doing nothing to reflect "empty words" spoken by a corporate "mouth"; and
- Zorinsky Federal Building; a federal building where hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent to change the exterior, yet no effort was made to address the hazards known to cause bird deaths. At least during the season, the federal security knew what was happening when carcasses were being noted and photographed, so there was no harangue at those times.
The newest DZB is the HPER building at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Why an architect would place a vast expanse of glass facing a park might be understood, but it was done by someone ignornant of the environmental setting for birds in the area. University officials also deserve a hefty dose of blame, as they were indifferent to the situation, based upon subsequent email and phone conversations, after the first bits of feathers and bones were found beneath the panes of glass on the side side of the building.
How typical!
Colorful and unique birds of many species were struck dead during April-November.
The number of species recorded each year has varied.
Year |
Number of Species |
2008 |
64 |
2009 |
63 |
2010 |
38 |
2011 |
40 |
Overall |
87 |
The biggest influence in the number of species is the number of mornings spent looking. Efforts declined in the past two years, due to out-of-town ventures and something akin to malaise or rationale?
A Hairy Woodpecker found at the Qwest/Centurylink Center in mid-September, was the most recent addition to the overall list of species being struck dead at river city buildings.
The 2011 bird-strike season ended with a five bird carcasses at the newly dubbed Centurylink Center (i.e., Qwest Center). The fatalities were the Lincoln's Sparrow, Eastern Towhee and American Tree Sparrow.
During the years denoted at Omaha, over 1100 bird-strike instances have been personally observed and recorded, with many pictures available to document the carnage. The prognosis: fatalities will continue next year and forever...
Each of the many bird strikes, the unnecessary and individual agony by each bird which became a fatality - in agony until an eventual death - has not been ignored, nor will it be forgotten.
Dead American Tree Sparrow at the Centurylink Center. November 14, 2011.
