A blatant act of bird abuse occurred at the downtown office building of the First National Bank early in the morning on May 27th. While bicycling about on the usual bird window strike survey, my route passed along the north side of the bank tower, by the atrium. A quick glance indicated there were no disabled or dead birds, so my travel continued. Upon looking back when a bit further along, there seemed to be a bird present near the east doorway of the atrium. A return to the location occurred just when an employee of the bank was present. He was seen using a broom to violently sweep the bird away from the doorway. The bird was moved 5-10 feet into the courtyard. Upon a close-up look, it was a female Common Yellowthroat. It had been disabled upon striking the glass of the atrium, and was trying to recover enough to leave the site, but was abused by the bank worker.
It is quite pathetic that an injured bird had to be treated as though it was some piece of unwanted trash.
The warbler was moved to a safer spot nearby, where it could recover without any further threats by pedestrians or anyone else.
This atrium is a known hazard to migratory birds due to its glass facade and the obvious presence of interior vegetation adjacent to the glass wall. There have been numerous bird window strikes here, and which bank officials are aware of. Yet they do nothing as birds continue to die. And their employee is an abuser of birds!.