Yellowthroats Suffering at Downtown Omaha

There were nine known instances of Common Yellowthroats striking glass walls at two buildings in downtown Omaha. This became 12 after a mid-day foray to check again for any window-strike instances.

This is the largest number of known instances for this species on any single day. The previous was 11 on an autumn day.

CenturyLink Center Omaha

The first instance was a temporarily disabled female at the north end of the west wall. It heard a nearby male calling and quickly flew to the ground vegetation before a photograph could be taken. There were three dead warblers further to the south. All of these and other recent fatalities despite what is ineffective decals placed upon the windows.

There was also a dead Eastern Wood-Pewee present.

At the mid-day visit, there were two more dead yellowthroats.

Holland Center for Performing Arts

It was completely amazing to see five live yellowthroats at this glass building. They were all disabled along the south wall in the courtyard. Birds in this area within the building often have a difficult time finding their way to escape, and often strike the glass again in their attempt to fly away.

Each of these birds was captured and moved to a green space on the north side of downtown, where it would be safer. Except for the female, the birds flew away with gusto into the shrubbery. Hopefully they all will survive and get away from the dangers of downtown Omaha.

There was also a dead Common Grackle at the same place.

Curtis National Park Service building

Window-strike instance No. 12 was located on the east side of the Curtis Midwest Region National Park Service headquarters along the Omaha riverfront.

There is a website where this quote was found:

"The National Park Service was dedicated to designing a building that exhibited its philosophies about the environment."

This statement certainly does not convey the reality of the building in regards to known deaths of migratory birds.